First responders are frequently thrust into circumstances that most people cannot imagine.
For instance, a 12-year-old Lady Lake child discovered his father’s weapon under his parents’ bed. The barrel was directed at him when he accidentally pulled the trigger. With his parents and siblings present, he had accidentally shot himself to death.
In some cases, however, someone else other than deputies and paramedics responds: Lake County Sheriff’s Chaplain Jason Low.
Low is the spiritual adviser to the sheriff’s office, but he also serves as the agency’s crime victims’ advocate.
Low recently received the Distinguished Victim Services Award from state Attorney General Ashley Moody for his efforts to provide aid and comfort to survivors and families in the aforementioned situations and others.
Low was one of seven victims’ advocates chosen for the 2020 award. Moody said in a statement that they “go above and beyond their job description to assist crime victims and their families,” and that they did so admirably last year because of the pandemic.
“I was completely shocked. I didn’t expect it,” Low said when he was informed that he had won the attorney general’s prize. “I don’t look for that stuff. I work for the Lord, but it was a privilege to receive it, and I appreciated so many people were supportive of that.”
Low began his career as a military police officer in the United States Army. He spent 11 years as a correctional officer at the Federal Correctional Complex-Coleman after five years in the military. He felt a stronger calling to assist people in a different way there, he said.
He graduated from Liberty University with a bachelor’s and master’s degree before enrolling in a Pentecostal seminary and becoming a pastor. In April 2019, he became a member of the Sheriff’s Department.
“I felt the Lord opened that door. I love what these guys (in law enforcement) do and how they serve the community,” Low said.
Low stated that he is there to assist deputies with their challenges. The priest went on to say that he never expected to work on instances as sad and horrible as the ones he handled last year. He does, however, have a “heart for people,” and he sees it as part of his job to advise and console victims, help them manage elements of their lives when they are most disturbed, and do anything else he can to reduce their suffering and stress in those situations, he added.
Prayer, scripture reading and talks with fellow pastors, he noted, help him cope with the rigors of his profession.
However, he stated that he is where he is to serve.
“Love God, love people — it’s also what I tell my kids. Go through life with them, however I can serve,” he said. “I’m working for the Lord.”
