Jim Tinch took the long road to being named chaplain of the Middletown Division of Fire.
Twenty-eight years ago, Tinch said he was called into the ministry, but when he was a senior in the seminary, his father died. So instead of finishing school, he cared for his mother.
Still, Tinch was active in his church until the church split. That’s when he walked away.
“I wasn’t mad at God,” he said. “I couldn’t find a church to go to.”
Tinch recently ran into Pastor Lamar Ferrell, preacher at Berachah Church and chaplain of the Middletown Division of Police. They have been friends for more than 30 years. Ferrell said he was looking for a fire department chaplain to replace Clark Helvey, who retired.
But when Ferrell pitched the idea, Tinch said: “Let me think about it.”