I served as a police officer long ago, but I still clearly remember the uncertainty as I transitioned from the academy to life on the streets. I recall the fears and apprehensions of family and friends as well. The call to law enforcement is truly a family affair! So, when I am asked to assist with an invocation and benediction for any Law Enforcement Basic Graduation, I try to let that memory help shape my prayers.
Since about 2021, I have regularly served as the Academy Chaplain for graduations at the Rappahannock Regional Criminal Justice Academy. Over time, a basic set of prayers came together which I have posted below. These were drawn from personal experience but also on the shoulders of those chaplains that have come before me. As such, please feel free to adapt these to your own use whether a phrase or in total under laws of fair use. (You may not repost or disseminate the prayer or its parts in writing without proper attribution, please.)
Through these prayers, I try to give voice to any likely anxiety or fears while reminding graduates and their family that their service is meaningful, we are never alone, and we live in hope. I clearly state that that this is not just a job, but a vocation (a call) that often requires sacrifice yet also can bring great joy. I want to try to mention morals and ethics that echo guidelines and best practices across agencies.
As the audience is often filled with people of varied beliefs including secularist ones, and as a member of the International Conference of Police Chaplains which encourages this standard, I choose to express my faith, hope and love in a nonsectarian way that might mean something helpful to everyone present. (I have had people thank me for that sensitivity.) These nonsectarian prayers tend to better reflect our common values while meeting legal requirements under the Constitution. Yet, I always suggest chaplains follow both their conscience and the direction of those chiefs or sheriffs they serve. If these interests cannot meet, I would suggest that you seek to serve elsewhere, for we work at the invitation and discretion of the head of our individual agencies and the government and people they serve.
Invocation:
Lord of All, you who brought the world into existence, who created and called each of these new officers to this sacred vocation in your longing for the establishment of justice and peace throughout the earth, we invite your joy-filled Spirit to be with us now. We gather in expectation and hope, with questions and perhaps even a bit of anxiety if not fear. For only you know the future, and sometimes the future can seem dark to us. Yet you have prepared this class to be proficient in their skills. You have gifted them with talents and fortitude that will continue to prepare them for success. Some of these gifts may only be fully discovered when the time is right. You have also blessed them with family and friends who love and wish to support them, and colleagues waiting expectantly to welcome, teach, and serve by their side. Your light shines in the darkness beckoning this class forward into the future with confidence. It is your light that will be seen in them as they perform their assigned tasks to the best of their abilities. As they seek to serve and protect their neighbors, assure them that love never fails, and their love and sacrifice will always have meaning; not one once of effort will be wasted by you. So, let this day be both a day of affirmation for a job well done and a call to future success. Use this time together to lift our spirits and open our eyes to a future filled with hope. And through our shared work, help us to love our neighbors and the world entrusted to our care to the best of our abilities. Amen.
Benediction:
Life-giving God, we give thanks for the staff of this academy, the law enforcement and first responders of our communities and nation, and those joining them this day from this graduating class. We have seen and heard wonderful things on this day, and in your goodness, we trust your wonders will never cease. Go with us now into the world. Help us to remember the joy of this day. Grant us the fortitude to rise to any of the challenges before us in this life. It takes courage to serve and protect, grant us that courage. The world can seem a threatening place. Defend us, our families, and community from harm and every evil. Do so in such a way that we might always recognize the good at work in the world, including in and through our own hands. We understand that we will be tested and challenged on our way, but we will never be alone. You walk with us. We have families and friends that surround us with their love, support, and encouragement. We have colleagues to rely upon. We have neighbors who have put their hope and trust in us, who look to us for our leadership and help. Therefore, help us to serve in hope and to treasure this sacred call always, no matter how difficult. Let us leave today rejoicing, for you have committed to each of us a task that you would not leave to another. In your great love and wisdom, you send us to serve so that this world might become a better, safer place. Let us go forth as your instruments of justice and peace. Amen.
The Rev. Louis Florio is a former member of the City of Alexandria Police Department and current volunteer law enforcement chaplain with Hanover County Sheriff’s Office and the City of Fredericksburg’s Police Department. This post may be shared freely with proper attribution.
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Midnights LEO 