Greetings IFOC Class of 2019,
We are excited you are here. I want to try to answer some questions you may have about
Albuquerque Regional Community Chaplain Corps (ARCCC). I know this is a long letter and “who has time for that”. Please make the time as this contains important information.
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15 NIV
There are 3 levels of activities that we at ARCCC are involved in:
The first level, and our main focus, is as Community Chaplains. That is emphasized in our name, Albuquerque Regional Community Chaplain Corps. When applying to IFOC to receive your credentialing you were or will be asked to explain in what ways you are serving in the community. If you are not already serving then what is there to show IFOC you will serve in the future? You are highly encouraged to find a ministry to serve as a chaplain inside your community and outside of the church walls. We have various areas set up already where you can come along side of those already doing the work, or organizations that are wanting chaplains to come help. We also encourage you to talk to your own Pastor and see if there is some way you can set up something to help members of your congregation as a chaplain. We have many chaplains that visit church members in the hospital or hospice etc. through
their church.
Call outs. The leadership team is always on the lookout for events for chaplains to serve in call outs. These can be either because of a crisis such as the flood in Belen or a community outreach/activity. These include Veteran’s Stand Down, working the table at a conference, or being a ministry of presence at a funeral or candlelight vigil.
Deployments is the final and most intense. These are events such as the school shooting in Aztec NM, or the concert shooting in Las Vegas NV. For these call outs you must be active in our VOAD Team and fulfilling all of the requirements that have been set up. These requirements will be explained to you at a later time. (You can be a team member if you are still working on the requirements.)
We periodically send out a notice of community outreach call outs. These are opportunities to learn how to talk to people about what a chaplain does while enlightening the community about our presence. They also are a great way to practice your skills of listening and interacting with hurting people. Volunteering for these out reaches is not mandatory but this is how we train up a team for the more serious crisis call outs.
When the leadership team gets information about a crisis call out, such as the Belen floods, we look at those chaplains who are involved as community chaplains and/or volunteered at any of our community outreaches, and who have some CISM training or other types of training. We will then send out the message with requirements if any are needed. (This is why it is important to send in copies of certificates of training and current badge.) We also look at the situation and determine if this is something where veteran chaplains can mentor a newer chaplain and will state that in the email. If we have not seen/heard from you at meetings or trainings, know that you are out there ministering, or helping with other ARCCC community events you may not be allowed to help with a call out. Why? We don’t know you. Can we trust you to cover our back in an intense situation? Or as Paul told Timothy you
have not shown yourself a worker who correctly handles the duties required of him.
ARCCC leadership is committed to three things, Relationships, Training and Sending. Our
responsibility is to provide the opportunities for you to become involved. It’s up to you to show your interest and commitment to “present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed”
Please feel free to contact myself or any members of the leadership team with questions or comments. Remember sign up for our email list, to send in copies of all training certificates and your current ID badge each year as you get your renewal.
I am excited to see what God has in store for you.
Lori Baca
Assistant Corp Commander
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