LCMS pastor ministers in wake of Bourbon Street tragedy

The Rev. Kenneth DeSoto (center), Specialized Care chaplain for the New Orleans Police Department, prays with first responders and others following a Jan. 1 mass casualty event on Bourbon Street. (Kenneth DeSoto)

By Cheryl Magness

In the early morning hours of Jan. 1, at least 14 people were killed and more than two dozen injured when a man in a pickup truck drove into a crowd that had gathered on Bourbon Street in New Orleans to celebrate the arrival of a new year. After exchanging fire with police officers, the driver died at the scene.

The Rev. Kenneth DeSoto, an LCMS pastor who serves as a Specialized Care chaplain for the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD), was on vacation a few hours away at the time, but returned home as soon as he heard the news. When he arrived at the scene, “the FBI, ATF, state police … everyone was there.” He spent time walking around, listening to people who needed someone to talk to, offering hugs and “just being present.”

“You’re there to be a support … to say, ‘You’re not alone,’ ” DeSoto says. “If they don’t want to talk, that’s fine. I’m not there to make them talk or ask what happened. … I’m only there to walk by their side in a non-threatening way. If they need suggestions for next steps or for helpful resources, I can offer those too.”

DeSoto, in addition to being certified by the Association of Professional Chaplains, has been ecclesiastically endorsed by LCMS Specialized Spiritual Care Ministry, which seeks to support those who bring Gospel care and comfort to individuals in specialized settings such as hospitals, prisons, and police and fire departments. A chaplain who has been ecclesiastically endorsed by the LCMS is one who has met certain theological and ministerial standards. As explained by the Rev. Dr. Brian Heller, manager of Specialized Spiritual Care Ministry, “Ecclesiastical endorsement helps church workers be confident in their identity as a Lutheran church worker serving in a non-Lutheran context. It also helps connect them with LCMS Specialized Care so we can reach out to them, provide them with resources and get recommendations from them about how we can support them.”

DeSoto has served as a full-time chaplain for the NOPD for six years. He previously served for 10 years in New Mexico as a volunteer chaplain for the Rio Rancho Sheriff’s Department. He currently also serves as pastor of St. Stephen Lutheran Church, New Orleans. He says his congregation understands that if he receives an emergency call during a service — something that has happened — “I’ve got to go.”

Love for neighbor

On Jan. 2, DeSoto returned to Bourbon Street as it reopened under the watchful eyes of a heavy police presence. That evening, in a group comprising both police officers and civilians, he was asked to pray. He says such opportunities are an honor.

“It [chaplaincy work] is about finding the sacredness in a situation. … I meet people time and again who are having the worst days of their life. It’s a privilege to do that.”

DeSoto notes that when he meets people in such situations, he is not doing so as their pastor. They aren’t members of his congregation, Lutherans or even Christians. But they are people to whom “I can show God’s mercy and love, and hopefully, a seed is planted.”

DeSoto encourages other Lutheran pastors to consider becoming Specialized Care chaplains: “The church needs people to do this work.” At the same time, he acknowledges that police chaplaincy may not be for everyone. “Every time we respond to a situation, we are invited into someone’s crisis. You can’t be a person who is swept away. You have to have boundaries and be capable of leaving things behind.”

In his role with the NOPD, he is not only involved in emergency situations such as the Bourbon Street incident but also in assisting with community outreach or participating in CISM (Critical Incident Stress Management) debriefings with the NOPD and surrounding law enforcement agencies after a crisis occurs. He also helps as a part of the Officer Assistance Program by teaching stress management segments during officer in-service classes. “Officers sometimes have an attitude of ‘I don’t need help,’ but they do,” he says. DeSoto has also sometimes gone on ride-alongs with police officers. “My job is to stay out of the way and not cause the officer any additional concerns.”

At its core, DeSoto says, chaplaincy is about love of neighbor. “Jesus said, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind and with all your soul, and love your neighbor as yourself’ (Matt. 22:37–39). [Being a chaplain] means listening sometimes, backing off other times, but loving my neighbor at all times. Lutheran pastors make great chaplains because they have been trained to listen and to think clearly. There are many different kinds of chaplains. We need them all.”

Learn more about LCMS Specialized Spiritual Care Ministry.

Posted April 4, 2025