Chaplains in the Workplace

Police Chaplains in Canada seem to always be asking for assistance from management, to be recognized as more than some "religious footnote" in the care of police and their families. The other challenge that can't be overlooked, is that many police chaplains are quite happy being a "religious footnote". They are often happy to be called upon to say a prayer at some social function or graduation ceremony. Both of these issues need to be looked at with a critical eye for the sake of our men and women in uniform. Something that I have tried to introduce to our Wellness Unit and chaplains in Ontario, is the idea of playing a greater role in the mental health discussion. I keep writing about this and talking about it because as my teachers taught me: sometimes you need to hear something 10 times before it sinks in. My suggestion, in my mind, is a match made in heaven. In the end, it helps minimizing the greatest hindrance to cops seeking out help: STIGMA. I am not poi...

It is commonplace to have sensational headlines in our news feeds and on TV that last a few days and are then forgotten. Mr. Putin is no doubt hoping that is the case when it comes to his purely evil actions in Ukraine. I am writing today to ask each of you to not allow that to happen...never! What will the world look like when the war in Ukraine is over? How will the world view Putin. We already know that countries like China, India, Iran and others, will stand behind this delusional psychopath but how will the rest of the world look at him and all the Russians who supported him? My fear is that they will look at Putin and minimize the consequences of his actions, just like they have done for Russian leaders for almost 100 years. The precedent is there, staring us in the face. Have you seen the carnage in Mariupol? Now the soldiers who were defending the steel plant have surrendered as requested by President Zelensky. Their fate is uncertain at best and it includes our friend who has ...

I have plenty of friends on Facebook: some very close and others through churches I have been involved in and yet others who are acquaintances. I will probably upset a few of you but if you really are my friend, it will pass. The rest can feel free to "unfriend me" but hopefully none of you feel so inclined. Covid-19 has caused most of us to be on one side of the debate and as demonstrated by the protests in Ottawa and elsewhere in Canada, some are rather passionate about their beliefs. I think I have responded to many social media posts by writing a draft copy and then never posting them. However, since so many of you seem to have no difficulty making your opinion known to the whole world, I thought I would pop my nose in there for just a minute. The difference in my opinion compared to most of you, is that I come to it through personal experience and not because my friends, media or social media have convinced me to take the stance I have. Again, despite this, some of you w...

Training new Police Chaplains in Kiev It is a very sad commentary on one of the most powerful nations in the world. It has been true for decades and perhaps even centuries but nothing changes through the leaders who insist on lying not only to the world but their own people. This was true during the Communist years and continues to this very hour. The country is Russia and the present leader is a man called Putin. He is quite possibly the most evil man on the planet as demonstrated by his love for Communism.  The situation in the world with attention on Covid, has given Putin the ideal opportunity to lie his way to within miles of the occupation of Ukraine. One of the favourite methods used in Russia is to cause unrest in neighbouring countries and claim Russians are in danger. Another trick is to send in agitators or as in the case of Ukraine, trained soldiers claiming to be freedom fighters. In 2014 this was accomplished with little notice by the west when the eastern part of Ukr...

I thank the handful of folks that read my first instalment of my "weekly" blogging. It has become "monthly" since I did not get an overwhelming response the first time around. And no, I am not offended.😢 Last week, Anne and I were able to travel to Alberta and spend time with our boys and their families. A granddaughter, 3 small dogs and 2 wonderful daughter-in-laws. While I was away, 7 residents passed away at the long term care where I am the Chaplain. Before anyone asks, no, none of the deaths were related to Covid. One of the deaths was Violet, who turned 100 in April. She was born 3 months before my mom and she was very proud of her 3 children and grandchildren. I will be officiating her funeral in a few weeks and at least one celebrity will be there: her son Tom Cochrane. A line from one of his songs that you might have heard of: "Life is a highway". And that is what I want to talk about today. We are each on a journey called life and for some that ...

Prior to Covid-19 and all the restrictions that have come with it, I would regularly head out for a ride along in the western part of downtown Toronto. I am a Toronto Police Service chaplain and over the past 18 years I have volunteered at three different times, with the present one starting in 2016. I wear a uniform but no weapons. I do however go to all kinds of calls riding with a different sergeant each time I go out on the road. In Toronto all divisions have their own chaplain. The province of Ontario has over 100 police chaplains and our backgrounds and religious affiliations are varied and thus we call it multi-faith by definition. We have just created the Police Chaplains Association of Ontario where our hope is to formalize the training for all police chaplains. We are doing this with the support of the Canadian Police Chaplain Association which we are all part of. Another purpose for the PCAO is to better define our role to the Police Chief's of Ontario. The hope being th...