How to Prepare for the Police Chaplain Project
The Police Chaplain Project records and preserves the experiences of America’s police chaplains. The archive is the first of its kind. Our 10 year initiative already features some of the most revered and accomplished police chaplains of the past fifty years. Wisdom that might otherwise be lost has been given renewed purpose – comforting those in grief and providing the practical tools police leaders need to confront crisis. “Police chaplains are essential to the spiritual survival of police officers and their families,” said the project’s co-founder Chaplain David Fair, ”yet few citizens are familiar with the vital role they play. The Police Chaplain Project is devoted to changing that.” Join us We invite police chaplains to join in our efforts as we work to provide insight and practical wisdom into the two most powerful and permanent conditions of the law enforcement community – crisis & spiritual renewal.
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How this program is making a difference. • The content is put to immediate use providing practical advice to young police chaplains and inspiration and hope to members of the public safety community. (Facebook/ policechaplainproject) • The content comforts those in grief following a law enforcement crisis. (The Survivor Network) • The digital content is archived for future generations of chaplains and historians as part of an effort to chronicle the history and evolution of police chaplaincy in America.
BE A PART OF THIS HISTORIC EFFORT If you currently serve as a police chaplain, or have done so in the past, please consider lending your voice to this project. (The project is not limited to police chaplains. Those who have acted as a caregiver to the police community are welcome.)
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HOW THIS WORKS: Chaplains who participate must travel to Austin, Texas where content is collected approximately three times a year.
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Prior to the interview please review our Questions to Consider (available in this document) and fill out our Police Chaplain Project Participant Form available online.
! FILMING ! • Actual filming takes about one hour ! !
• At the conclusion of the interview, interviewees are invited to share photographs and documents which may be used in content drawn from archive. • Interviewees will eventually be provided with a link for downloading or sharing their interview.
! ! ! To receive additional information about participating or to set up a time, contact Kelly LeConte at kleconte@policeusa.com.
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Questions to Consider: • Why do we need police chaplains? • Talk about your biggest obstacles as a young chaplain. • Describe your first day as a chaplain. • In your capacity as a chaplain, when do you think you first make a significant difference? • Describe a time in which you took a bold initiative in reaching out to someone in need. • Who most influenced your approach to chaplaincy? What lessons did that person teach you? • Who was the greatest police chaplain you have ever know? • Select a single word which best describes or sums up the role of a police chaplain.
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• Share some insight into the stress a chaplain undergoes and how best to deal with it. • Advice for the young police chaplain who is viewing this video fifty years from now. Advice for finding your unique voice: Be specific. Take your belief out of the ether and ground it in the events of your life. Think of your own experience and tell of the things you know that no one else does. The best answers are simple, straightforward and are tied to the essence of your daily life philosophy and the shaping of your beliefs.
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A HEARTFELT THANK YOU
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These programs would not be possible without the extraordinary talents of all the law enforcement veterans, police chaplains and survivors who generously contributed to this nationwide initiative. Some of these kind souls are listed below. Should you get the chance, I hope you will join our organization in thanking them yourself. Chaplain David Fair, Ph.D. Police Chaplain Project Chaplain Ken Ashlock Chaplain William Henry King III Chaplain Tim Klerekoper Chaplain Craig Hungler Chaplain John Harth Rabbi Cary Freidman Chaplain Wesley McDuffie Chaplain Jack Poe Chaplain Terry Morgan Chaplain Larry Todd Chaplain Scott Johnson Chaplain Steve Rekedal Chaplain Jim McNabb Dr. Henry McGowen Officer Tracey Delgado Chaplain Terry Morgan
‘In the hope of thereby preserving from decay the remembrance of what people have done.� Herodotus