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By Naomi Creason, Sentinel Reporter

Last updated: Thursday, January 31, 2008 2:06 PM EST

A person immersed in a shot glass revealing every one of life’s problems to a bartender is a bit of a stereotype, but it is something Pastor Chuck Kish hopes will continue.

Especially if a chaplain serves as the sounding board.

Kish, a pastor at the Bethel Assembly of God Church in South Middleton Township, is starting a new program where one female chaplain and one male chaplain will be available to talk to anyone visiting a bar — starting Friday with the Market Cross Pub on North Hanover Street in Carlisle.

The chaplains will be at the Market Cross from 9 p.m. to 12 a.m. on the first Friday of every month.

“We’re going to start out slow,” Kish said. “We’re kind of learning, since this is the first in the world.”

The idea came from a spontaneous conversation with a bar owner while responding to an alarm as a police chaplain with a Carlisle officer. Kish has been working with bar owners, bartenders and chaplains on trying to create the perfect strategy to handle down-and-out drinkers.

“Bartenders have been looking at what types of situations and scenarios come up,” Kish said. “They’ll be the frontline during this program and referring people to us. We’ve been working behind the scenes for eight months trying to get this working.”

Kish has also been able to experience talking to some of those he intends on helping with the program.

“There was a lady at one of the bars who was married for 30 years and her husband just up and left her, and she was there about to drink herself into oblivion,” explained Kish, who met the woman at a Carlisle bar three months ago. “The bartender said before she could do that, maybe she’d like to talk to the chaplains. It was a sort of pilot thing for us, and we were able to give help in a very tangible way. That’s when I realized, you know, this is going to work.”

Idea works for pub owner

Market Cross Pub owner Jeff Goss was admittedly a little skeptical of the program at first.

“He approached me on the idea about a month, a month and a half ago, and I kind of did a double-take on it,” Goss said. “Once we started talking about it, I realized what a great idea it was. I’m sort of an internal optimist. Working here for 14 years, I’ve seen customers, regulars and employees who have had their ups and downs through life.”

One of the reasons why Goss feels like the program has strong potential is the fact that the chaplains won’t be preaching to customers at the pub.

“The chaplains are really just talking you through it,” Goss said. “They’re not there to tell you not to drink beer or not to socialize. They’re not trying to convert you to a particular religion. It’s a way for people to just air out their problems or be that ear and point them in the right direction if they need it.”

“We’re not going in there to strong-arm anybody,” Kish said. “We give more pastoral care, listening to what you have to say.”

It’s not just those customers who are drinking heavily who will be helped, according to Goss.

“I talked to one of my bartenders and getting to know the regulars, she said she’s seen how they can be totally down in the dumps,” Goss said. “That doesn’t mean they’re drinking their worries away. They could just be having a sandwich and a beer, but they still want that help. We all have those days.”

Reactions have been strong

Kish and other chaplains from Bethel Assembly of God Church are excited about what they will be able to do with the program.

“We have an intense, intense love for the community,” Kish said of the chaplains. “The police chaplains strap on bulletproof vests to go out on ride-alongs as a volunteer — we’re not paid for this. [The bar] is just another avenue of where people are. Now I have more chaplains than I need who want to volunteer for this.”

It’s not just the church that is responding to the new program. Since news of the program spread, Kish has been receiving e-mails from people across the country.

“I’ve been getting e-mails from people nationally about our program,” Kish said. “I got an e-mail from someone in Oklahoma who works as a mortgage broker and thought a chaplain would be good there because of all the people he’s seen pouring their hearts out about financial difficulties. Imagine that. A chaplain at a mortgage broker company.”

Goss has heard a little bit of everything from his customers, but believes this is only a starting point to something bigger.

“At first it seemed kind of strange to them, but once they think about it, it seems natural,” Goss said. “We’re a restaurant and a bar, and we want to have that communal atmosphere of a pub. This is just a pilot program. This could be taken even further than downtown Carlisle and maybe even create chaplain referral services. I think Pastor Chuck caught on a good idea.”