Vicar Robert “Bob” Rainis, the new part-time spiritual leader of Epiphany Lutheran Church in Norwood, was a law enforcement officer for 24 years before realizing his calling to ministry.

Some might say going from being a cop to a preacher would be a rough transition, but Rainis says the two jobs have more in common than one might imagine.

“Both vocations are a calling to help others,” just in different ways, Rainis says. As a cop, you’re helping people by putting away the bad guys who might do them harm. As a minister, you’re helping people stay on a righteous spiritual path through God.

Rainis tells a story about his son that illustrates this perfectly. Years ago, when Rainis was still a cop, but had begun playing a more active role in the Lutheran church, his son Andrew brought a friend home. Andrew pointed to the table where his father’s shield and his Bible were laying side-by-side. “One way or the other, my father’s going to get you,” he told his friend.

Born in Brooklyn and raised in Queens, Rainis began his law enforcement career as a city cop in Washington, D.C. He later returned to New York to serve as a transit detective in Penn Station. From there he took a job as an investigator for the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office, working on federal cases. In 1999, he ruptured his Achilles tendon chasing a suspect and retired two years later.

Since then, he’s been pursuing theological studies and working as a vicar (basically a part-time pastor) at a couple of Lutheran churches in the city, commuting from his home on Long Island.

Because its congregation has shrunk over the years, Epiphany needed someone to lead the church, but only on a part-time basis. (They’ve been using guest preachers for the past year.) Starting this spring, Rainis will take on that role.

His first day on the job was Easter Sunday. He gave a great sermon, according to members of the congregation. Before service that morning, a young couple with children passed by Rainis as he stood in the church’s entrance. He greeted them and they stopped and told him they were new to the area and looking for a church to attend. Rainis told them to go to the end of the block, get the kids a hot chocolate, and come back in a half hour. They came back for Easter service and returned again the following week.

Rainis, of course, saw this as a great omen for a struggling congregation. “And by the grace of God we will survive,” he said.