SPOKANE, Wash. – The Spokane County Sheriff’s Chaplaincy has ministered to wildfire victims, officers and crime victims throughout 2024, marking a particularly busy time for the group. The chaplaincy has also worked to diversify its spiritual support resources given the religious homogeneity of the chaplaincy itself.
According to Lead Chaplain Robert Kinnune, the chaplaincy has been assisting fire department chaplains and FEMA staff working with Gray and Oregon wildfire victims, who have had to recount their experiences again following a federal disaster declaration which opened the door for more funding to victims.
“It has been a challenging year. It’s been busy, ministry like that happens on top of everything else we’ve been doing,” Kinnune said.
Kinnune, who took over as lead chaplain under previous Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich, says he has worked to ensure that his staff can serve people of all faiths in Spokane.
“We have ten chaplains including myself. To join this ministry, you have to join the nonprofit Christian Outreach for Police and Their Spouses…We have a pluralistic department and we focus on recruits who can minister to a pluralistic community,” Kinnune said.
Spokane County is predominantly Catholic and Protestant, though mainline denominations have seen significant decreases in attendance as nondenominational evangelical churches expand throughout the county. Non-religious and non-Christian populations have also increased in Spokane in the past two decades.
Despite Kinnune’s office reflecting only the Protestant and nondenominational demographic of Spokane County, he says his office is capable of meeting the spiritual needs of a diverse range of citizens.
“This is something that was on my mind when I took over as lead chaplain…the free-exercise of religion is so important, so we started looking at the demographics of the county and reached out to as many faiths as we could so we could know who we could refer to,” Kinnune said.
The chaplaincy now requires all recruits to take an oath which includes language referencing the broad range of religious traditions across the county.
The Sheriff’s chaplaincy is financed through a taxpayer funded contract with the department and donations to Christian Outreach for Police and Their Spouses. Kinnune says he works with volunteers representing several non-Christian spiritual traditions to meet the needs of all members of the county.
In a year which has proven taxing for the Spokane County Sheriff’s Department and the chaplaincy so far, Kinnune expressed his staff of nine chaplains’ continued commitment to serving officers and victims.
“If someone needs help and asks for it, we’re going to say yes,” Kinnune said.
Kinnune concluded his interview with NonStop Local by encouraging interested community members to consider applying to the chaplaincy and asked for Spokane County’s continued prayers for the sheriff’s office and its chaplains.
