Sheriff Hammond said a panel will help narrow down the candidates. The chaplain panel includes the pastor of Lookout Mountain Presbyterian Church (Joe Novenson) among others.

The Hamilton County Sheriff’s office is taking applications for the position of Chaplain. Sheriff Jim Hammond said the former chaplain had retired. He said the new chaplain will mainly be coordinating a variety of spiritual and secular programs for inmates rather than directly ministering.

Sheriff Hammond said a panel will help narrow down the candidates. The chaplain panel includes the pastor of Lookout Mountain Presbyterian Church (Joe Novenson), the pastor of the Church of the Firstborn, the Catholic Church at Soddy Daisy, the pastor of Silverdale Baptist and Lewis Card.

The chaplain post pays between $34,557-$51,836.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS IS MONDAY, APRIL 19, 2010, AT 4:00 P.M., TO THE HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICE OF THE HAMILTON COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE IN THE CITY/COUNTY COURTHOUSE AT 601 CHERRY STREET, ROOM G-25, CHATTANOOGA, TN.

Jail Chaplain is tasked with planning, directing and administering all programs, both spiritual and secular for the Hamilton County Jail, is responsible for the approval, training and acceptance of all lay and clergy volunteers from faiths represented by the inmate population, and develops and maintains a close working relationship with all community resources relative to the areas of responsibility. The minimum qualifications for the position are:

Religious Credentials – Must be an ordained clergy or a member of an ecclesiastically recognized religious institute of vowed men and women. In lieu of professional ordination credentials, adequate documentation of the applicant’s recognized religious and ministerial roles in their respective faith is required.
Education – Must possess a Bachelors degree in biblical studies, ministry, Christian education, psychology, or Christian counseling from an accredited college or university; and Master of Divinity degree consisting of 90 hours of graduate study from an Association of Theological Schools (ATS) accredited residential seminary or school of theology is preferred but not required or may submit equivalent educational credits for consideration for the masters degree with the understanding that they must be pastoral and theological based.
Experience – Must have the minimum qualifications of a Clinical Pastoral education or the equivalent and 2 years full-time experience providing counseling services to a setting similar to a jail facility or the military.