LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — It had been a rough weekend for first responders in Lawrence.

First, they rescued a 1-year-old and his mother, after she allegedly drove a vehicle into the Kansas River. Then, the next day, they recovered the body of a 5-year-old girl who had also been a passenger in the car.

At times like these, Paul Taylor and six volunteer chaplains are a quiet force standing alongside law enforcement officers, firefighters and emergency service crews offering help as needed. Sometimes, all that is necessary is for them to place a hand on a shoulder.

It's a ministry of presence. Essent...