In partnership with local police departments, parishes within the Archdiocese of Washington and other faith groups gathered with local law enforcement representatives during the inaugural National Faith & Blue Weekend to engage communities in both educational presentations and prayer.

National Faith & Blue Weekend held around Oct. 10-12, 2020 was an initiative led by the group Movement Forward to build connections among police departments and the communities they serve.

“Communities are stronger and safer when residents and law enforcement professionals can relate as ordinary people with shared values, hopes and dreams,” the Faith & Blue website states. “The partners who are 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.”

At Nativity Catholic Church in Washington, D.C., the Fourth District Metropolitan Police Department hosted a Faith & Blue event with clergy from several religious denominations in the area on Oct. 9, 2020. The event, which was held in the church parking lot and followed social-distancing recommendations, included Father Pawel Sass, the pastor of Nativity Catholic Church; Dr. Joseph Daniels Jr., pastor of The Emery Fellowship; Pastor William Spence of the Harvest Life Fellowship; and Commander Randy Griffin of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Fourth District.

Father Sass delivered words of encouragement, thanking the local police department for the partnership that assisted his parish in distributing food to those in need earlier this year.

Along with other faith communities in the neighborhood, Father Sass started distributing food earlier this year to about 800 families, and he said that without the help of the local Metropolitan Police Department, it would not have been possible to organize that effort. 

The Faith & Blue event, Father Sass said in an interview, was important “especially during this time when we need prayer and support." 

“This is what we need, especially in this moment, to gather, in a sacred space outside," he added. “A parking lot can be a beautiful place to pray." 

As the program gathered people from different corners of the neighborhood together, Father Sass said it was a moment for prayer, unity and building up community, “to look for more things that unite us and not separate us." 

“I saw this as an opportunity," Father Sass said. “Especially with the name, Faith & Blue, this is what we need the most -- faith. Once we have faith we can understand everything through the eyes of God." 

In Solomons, Maryland, Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish and School collaborated with the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office to host a variety of demonstrational and educational events for both students and parishioners. On Oct. 9, deputies from the patrol, motor and K-9 units as well as the Special Operations Team hosted a “Show and Tell” at Our Lady Star of the Sea School sharing how law enforcement works to keep communities safe. The school organized “blue donations” of blue-themed gifts and snacks for the sheriff’s office.

At Our Lady Star of the Sea’s live streamed Mass on Oct. 12, Assistant Sheriff Lieutenant Colonel Dave McDowell shared several of his department’s community outreach efforts throughout the years. 

“We have been working hard over the past two decades to establish the ties we have in this community,” McDowell said. “The citizens of this county, we believe, know the integrity and the character of the men and women that are out there protecting and preserving lives.”

Father Ken Gill, pastor at Our Lady Star of the Sea, said in an interview with the Catholic Standard that such a partnership is near and dear to his heart, after working in the United States Department of Justice following 9/11 and witnessing the “collaboration and communication” of local partnerships with the National Sheriff's Association.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity as a faith-based organization to play a role in the community, (and) having the ability to recognize those women and men who serve us in our communities and give them an opportunity to share a few words of their commitment,” Father Gill said.

“It’s important that we stay engaged here in our local communities and that we’re constantly looking at ways to continue to elaborate and get together in our community,” he added. “I was very pleased and am very grateful for the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office for speaking to our school and to our community.”