Upcoming Event – Faith and Blue 2021

Posted bybuchananchroniclePosted inAll Issues, Buchanan, Buchanan Area Ministerial Association, Community, Events, Family, Issue 13 - October 02 2021, Local Faith, Michigan, Places, Police, Seasonal, Summer, Upcoming
National Faith and Blue Weekend 2021 flyer

BAMA and BCC to Host Faith & Blue Weekend 2021

Write-Up by Pastor Nate Babcock, Buchanan Christian Church Pastor
Local Faith and Blue Weekend 2021 flyer

The churches of the Buchanan Area Ministerial Association (BAMA) are excited to partner with the Buchanan Police Department for Faith & Blue 2021.  According to faithandblue.org: “Faith & Blue was launched to facilitate safer, stronger, more just and unified communities by directly enabling local partnerships among law enforcement professionals, residents, businesses and community groups through the connections of local faith-based organizations.”

Faith and Blue Ice Cream Social, Photo from St. Paul’s Lutheran Church Facebook Event

In September, Chief Tim Ganus and Officers Brianna Schmitz and Amy Bruce asked for the partnership of Buchanan area churches to bring Faith & Blue to Buchanan. Below is the list of events for Faith and Blue Weekend, which is October 9-10 2021.  

  • Pastries & Police on Saturday October 9 at 11:00 am at Life Action Ministries: The community is invited to participate in sharing refreshments and fellowship during a time of community-police Q&A and dialogue.
  • Cookout & Ice Cream Social on Sunday October 10 from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm at St. Paul Lutheran Church. The community is invited to participate in this family-fun event which will give opportunity to interact with officers from the Buchanan Police Department.
  • Also on Sunday October 10, offices from the BPD will be visiting and speaking to the following churches in Buchanan: St. Paul Lutheran, First Presbyterian, First United Methodist, Buchanan Christian, Buchanan Church of the Nazarene, New Good Hope Missionary Baptist, Saint Anthony Catholic, and Faith United Methodist. As always, all of the BAMA churches welcome anyone to attend their worship services.
Nearby Locations Celebrating Faith and Blue 2021, Image from Faith and Blue website

About National Faith & Blue Weekend:

OUR MISSION: Faith & Blue was launched to facilitate safer, stronger, more just and unified communities by directly enabling local partnerships among law enforcement professionals, residents, businesses and community groups through the connections of local faith-based organizations. The initiative aims to re-calibrate police-community relations through solutions-focused, in-person, socially distanced and/or virtual activities that are organized jointly by faith-based or other community groups and law enforcement agencies.

PURPOSE: Communities are stronger and safer when residents and law enforcement professionals can relate as ordinary people with shared values, hopes, and dreams. The partners who are a part of National Faith & Blue Weekend believe we can find ways to work together around our many commonalities instead of being divided by our differences.

BACKGROUND: National Faith & Blue Weekend is an extension of the One Congregation One Precinct initiative (OneCOP), a program of MovementForward, Inc., which is a bridge-building, solutions-focused human and civil rights organization based in Atlanta, Georgia. The OneCOP initiative pairs together officers at the beat or precinct level with local houses of worship.

Oklahoma City Police Department: Working together, the paired officer and faith leader address mutually held biases and increase familiarity. OneCOP has launched in a number of cities, and yet the need for this type of collaboration is apparent in every community. With 65 million Americans attending a house of worship each week, there is a tremendous opportunity to engage the public at large. National Faith & Blue Weekend was conceived as the way to open OneCOP to everyone.

PARTNERS: National Faith & Blue Weekend is made up of people dedicated to mutual understanding and collaboration. It is organized jointly by the United States Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) and MovementForward, Inc.’s OneCOP initiative and sponsored by FirstNet Built with AT&T along with the Motorola Solutions Foundation.
Faith & Blue is an initiative which “was launched to facilitate safer, stronger, more just and unified communities by directly enabling local partnerships among law enforcement professionals, residents, businesses and community groups through the connections of local faith-based organizations.” (www.faithandblue.org)

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