Police Chaplains Honored In Philadelphia
by Alex Lloyd Gross
When an officer is hurt or there is a violent incident in the community, police chaplains are called to the scene to offer comfort, wisdom and prayer. They are often unsung members of the community, but today was a day that they were honored at the FOP Lodge on Caroline Road in Northeast Philadelphia.
Alex Lloyd Gross Photo Delaware Valley News.com Chaplains get to interact with police brass at the luncheon.
The chaplains are not law enforcement. They do not patrol and they do not make arrests. They do serve at the behest of the individual district captains in Philadelphia. They can be called 24/7 365 days a year. At the luncheon to honor them, they were given certificates of appreciation and got a chance to meet and chat with the command staff.
Not all the chaplains were there but most of them were. Most religions are represented, Jewish, Muslim, Catholic, Christian are all represented. The program lasted about two hours. While most chaplains are also members of the community by being block captains or serving in other capacity, at times they will go to a scene in their area without waiting to be called. For major incidents, chaplains from across the city will be paged to go to the incident.
This was the first time that the police department honored them as a group.