“You can’t predict Friday night to Monday morning what is going to happen,” said Kemp, a deacon at St. Joseph parish in eastern Scarborough when he’s not on the job. “You can have a beautiful sunny day and you can go to a really big car crash and be like I don’t understand. Scripture or the catechism or the doctrines of the Church, encyclicals, those are the things that help me make sense of the day.
“I may not know why it happened but that is something that is always revealed later.”
After the patient has been delivered and the loose ends tied up, Kemp, who when not rushing people to the emergency room comforts them through his ministry at Rouge Valley Health System, frequently takes a few moments to just be before the Lord and thank Him for being there.
“Afterwards when we’ve put our equipment together and finished the paperwork I’ve taken a few moments just to kind of gather myself and to humble myself before the Lord for giving me the opportunity to be there,” said Kemp, 51. “I’ve done that quite often. It actually calms me, gets me strong for the next call (and) helps me clear my mind so that I can be 100-per-cent there for the next call.”
Although Kemp, who regularly assists about eight patients each 12-hour shift, did not want to describe any one specific case he’s responded to, he did say the nature of the calls can range from a traumatic injury from an accident to health complications surrounding medications and mental health concerns — all of which he considers a crisis.
“There are different types of crisis,” said the 13-year veteran. “It doesn’t have to be like TV blood and guts, it can be an emotional drain too.”
And it is not just Kemp who is aided by his spirituality while donning a paramedic uniform. The patients he attends to also benefit from Kemp’s faith.
“Where the spirituality plays is how you show compassion for others, how you care for others,” he said. “Without judging you see people as brothers and sisters and it is in your nature for you to love them and to care and to do the best that you can to help anyone. Bedside manner goes a long way when you have someone providing some care.”
Even on a slow day Kemp said he makes sure to pay homage to the Lord while at work.
“If I do have quiet time I do give it up to the Lord in prayer,” he said. “To sit peacefully and not talk but listen, that is the best thing that I can do for me.”
Rev. Todd Riley, one of four chaplains for Toronto Fire Services, said he wished more first responders had Kemp’s spirituality. Like Kemp, Riley strongly believes that the answers to life’s big questions — “where did I come from, why is the world so messed up, what is the solution to the world’s problems, what am I doing here, what is my reason for being?” — are rooted in faith.
“Not as many people lean on God as one would hope and so not as many people have a clear sense that there is a spiritual reason for me being here,” said the pastor of Islington Baptist Church. “That is not just in the fire service, I think that it’s across the board in Canadian culture and probably the entire world. Not many people operate from the perspective that I belong to God and I am supposed to be serving Him in everything that I do.
“If you are a first responder and you have a strong faith that will effect the way that you work, the way you engage with the people that you are serving.”
For Riley, spirituality is but one of the five pillars which support a healthy professional life. The other four are diet, sleep patterns, relationships and hobbies.
And it isn’t just Christians who hold this belief. Earlier this month the Ontario Multifaith Council held its annual educational conference, titled Spiritual Responses to People in Crisis, which targeted police, paramedics and firefighters.
“The idea has been around for a long time,” said Pandit Sharma, president of the council. “We thought that with the diversity in our society today that spiritual education needs a revamp. We have to understand the inter-faith element.”
That’s why this year’s conference sought to not only educate on the basics about a diverse range of religions but also connect emergency service personnel with members of faith groups who could be used as a resource when dealing with a crisis as a first responder.
Back at his station near Markham Road and Eglinton Avenue, Kemp said he will continue to keep his spirituality strong but generally silent while on the job.
“I don’t thrust my Christian faith first in words. If any prayers were to be said it would usually be quiet (and) kept to myself. Jesus set the example of going off to pray so why not follow that example of going off to pray and just spending some quiet time.”