The Motorcycle-Riding Chaplain, Comrade to Police and Firefighters in the Heights

If there were more than 24 hours in a day, Bishop Ronnie White says he would find a way to be a chaplain to even more police officers and firefighters.

White is the Chicago Heights police and fire chaplain, the Park Forest police chaplain and the chaplain to the South Suburban Police Chief Association, which serves more than 80 agencies.

And he doesn't get paid to do it.

White volunteers his time to all of these groups. His full-time job title is Director of Juvenile Services for the City of Chicago Heights. White is on-call all day, every day of every week, and it isn't always easy.

“This is a special call," he says. "Some ministers are not cut out to be a police or fire chaplain.”

White ought to know what it's like transitioning into the uniquely challenging field. When he first arrived in Chicago Heights from Washington, D.C., more than 10 years ago, he was not yet a chaplain.

“My ministry was with the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church," he says. "I was appointed to pastor (at) St. James AME, which is what brought me here from Washington to Chicago Heights."

Soon, after connecting with Chicago Heights police, White said he felt a call to do more volunteer work as a chaplain. 

“I remember it wasn’t long after I arrived here, early 2001," he recalls. "I happened to be doing a ride-along. The officer I was riding with got a call that I was needed at St. James Hospital. I was brought to a room where a police officer's father was. I went to be present with the officer and his family. I was right there when his father took his last breath. I prayed with the family to offer comfort. Even to this day, the officer's mother and I remain in contact. The officer and I are very close.

“Relationships build from that. I was there. It doesn’t stop."

The Harley Connection

When you walk into Bishop White's office at the Chicago Heights police station, you notice his wall is covered with theology diplomas and certificates of various training methods. But the largest object on his wall is a Harley-Davidson clock.

“It’s a Harley," White says, pointing to the clock. "Would there be anything else?"

White said riding his motorcycle has a way of making his day’s duties easier.

"This is my ministry. It’s also a stress reliever for me, with everything that I deal with,” he says. “I go places where other people feel uncomfortable just to hang out with someone who doesn’t feel comfortable in church."

The bike has become a connecting point for White and many of the people he has helped.

"We ride; that’s what we do," he says. "As a chaplain, as a minister, my bike opens up doors. Motorcyclists feel more comfortable with me as opposed to walking around with a clerical collar and always carrying a Bible in my hand."

We don't typically see a man of the church hopping on a Harley, and White is aware of that.

"Maybe I’m not your stereotypical chaplain," he says. "I’ve got my own ways of doing things. I have dozens of opportunities to share Christ with others. That’s what it’s all about: to win souls for Christ. God has blessed me. He gets the glory.”

White's confidence is understandable. He has touched the hearts of police officers throughout the city and has made a positive impression on the higher-ups as well.

"Dr. White is a great person," says Chicago Heights Police Chief Michael Camilli. "He has done great service in our community, to the department, to the juveniles of the community. He does great work as a police chaplain, not only supporting the officers but the other organizations within the south suburbs. He reaches out to all aspects of municipal police and fire."

Helping Those in the Toughest of Times

Chief Camilli says White has been extremely helpful in the aftermath of the death of 5-year-old Michael Langford Jr., who was killed after Steger resident Cecil Conner Jr. struck a tree while driving drunk. The boy was sleeping in the back seat of the car at the time. Attention turned toward a Chicago Heights police officer after he was accused of instructing Conner to drive the boy home, even though Conner was intoxicated. 

“Anytime we have an officer involved in an event such as the Michael (Langford) case, which is in the news right now …" Camilli says. "I know the family had to deal with tragedy, but my officer had to deal with that tragedy also. Bishop Ronnie White was there for that officer, just like others were there for the family. He was there spiritually for my officer at that point.

“It’s things of that nature that Bishop White helps as a chaplain in that department.”

Police officers and firefighters have found a friend in White as he has stood by their side during life’s most difficult trials. Recently, White himself lost a good friend in the untimely death of Tinley Park's highly respected police chief, Michael O’Connell. 

“I just returned from a funeral in Sauk Village from a fire chaplain that had passed away when I got the email that Tinley Park police Chief Michael O’Connell had passed away," White says. "I knew him because I serve as the chaplain for the Police Chiefs Association.  I always attend the meetings to render an invocation or give words of encouragement."

In thinking about O'Connell, White says he keeps returning to fond memories of the chief.

"To kind of break the ice and soften them up a bit, I would tell a joke," White recalls. "I found it would be a habit with Chief O’Connell, before every meeting he would corner me. Here he is a, big guy looking down at me, a teddy bear of a guy, and asks me,  'You got a good one for us today?' I would always respond, ‘Let me know.’ So after the meeting he would always tell me it was a pretty good joke.  I’ll really miss that. Chief O’Connell always had a kind word to say. I think that’s the part I’ll miss the most."

White pauses, holding back tears.

“Sometimes when you lose somebody in the field, somebody else in the field is the only one who understands best,” he says.

Chaplain Ronnie White would know. He's been that comrade in the field for everyone else.