Episcopal parishes may be accustomed to the occasional K-9 officer receiving blessings on St. Francis Day. St. Katherine’s Episcopal Church in Williamston, Michigan, took matters a step further on October 4, adding two police officers to the day’s blessings.
The blessings were an extension of the church’s participating in Faith & Blue, a national effort to “build bridges and break biases” between police and the communities they serve.
The Rev. Melissa Congleton is the priest in charge of St. Katherine’s, which is 19 miles southeast of Lansing. She is also a police chaplain and officer at Michigan State University, and returned to school in preparing for ordained ministry. She became a priest in June 2021. She works full time as an officer and part time as a priest.
“We did our annual pet blessings and we incorporated our local police into it,” she says. “Last year, we had a police officer bring out his K-9 and this year two officers came out to our event — as we have a small police jurisdiction. It was a combination of animal blessings and blessings for local police officers. The unifying theme behind both things is that both our animals and police help us feel safe and protected, ideally. That was the motivation or idea behind the event. I came up with it.”
Congleton celebrated a regular service followed by the blessings. Pleasant fall weather allowed the church to hold the event outdoors, giving parishioners a chance to meet with on-duty officers and learn their names. The officers who were sent out to the event weren’t Episcopalians, but they appreciated the experience and Congleton’s sense of community involvement.
“It was cool,” officer Stacey Bazan said. “I can say I’ve never been to an event like that, and it was very appreciative. To be recognized in the community is a positive thing for us. And I love animals, so I enjoyed it. It was a quick event, held outdoors, and people brought their pets, cats, and dogs. There may have even been a lizard. They just blessed us quickly and afterward, we got to socialize and meet the animals. I appreciated the blessing. It was awesome and pleasant.”
“If they have it again this year, I would definitely be willing to go. It was a very enjoyable experience,” she said.
Congleton first heard of Faith & Blue through her police job and found its mission positive and worthwhile.
“Faith & Blue aims to build trust between community members and the police. I think that police departments and houses of worship are part of the leadership of any community, so it is only natural to work together to have the best community we can. We all share the same interests of living and working in the same place,” she said.
“I cannot speak for them, but I see policing has a bad rap at times, and they’re trying to work to have the police seen in a better light — but by doing it in a genuine way, by having the police get to know the community, and build trust. Policing is a two-way street. The community will call the police when they have troubles, but on the flip side of that coin, the police may benefit from community help — such as in missing person investigations.”
Congleton has seen the way the police are perceived from both inside and outside the profession. She believes that building bridges is necessary and beneficial for everyone in the community. Given the scrutiny of police in recent years over racial issues, she praises Faith & Blue for having diverse people in important leadership roles. She sees it as a group that wants to move both sides toward the common goal of improving communities.
“Nowadays, with all the media stuff, police officers aren’t always looked at in the best way,” officer Bazan said. “Events like this are very opening and appreciative, that we know the community stands behind us.”
Congleton says she is open to doing similar events in the future, and she wants to arrange community service projects and similar events with the police. This is difficult to accomplish at the moment, given that low staffing in local police departments makes it challenging for police to dedicate resources to such events.
Similar events Congleton has done in the past have shown the effectiveness of Faith & Blue’s work. She previously worked with the MSU Lutheran Student Organization at Michigan State University and hosted a stress-relief event. The event offered cider and donuts and allowed police and students to interact and talk between classes, along with interacting with police K-9s and local therapy dogs.
“The name of the game is finding what works with the community, so I’m definitely open to whatever a community needs,” she said.
