During the very early morning hours of October 13th, TO PS Chaplain Hillar Alkok and Brandon PS Constable/Chaplain Bruce Ewanyshyn had the opportunity to present two concepts of police chaplaincy to governing officials in the country of Georgia. The meeting took place in Tbilisi with the purpose of informing representatives of state authorities, and leaders of religious organizations of the value of implementing chaplain services for law enforcement units of Georgia. These presentations augmented presentations by American police chaplain Greg Young, and a Ukrainian police officer/chaplain. In addition to a select topic, Bruce had the opportunity to share regarding the value of our national chaplain association - the CPCA.
Prior to Oct 13th, Ukraine Chaplains' Pavlo Tsarevsky and Yaroslav Malko had been in discussions with governing authorities in Georgia culminating in the opportunity for CPCA chaplains to share via Zoom. Pavlo was present in Tbilisi to facilitate the presentation and to continue discussions post presentation.
Information recently shared post presentation indicates preparations are moving forward towards the possibility of establishing a police chaplain training academy in Georgia in 2023. Pavlo and Yaroslav are to be commended for their efforts to establish chaplaincy in countries such as Ukraine and now possibly Georgia. Police chaplains of all faith backgrounds provide police officers with spiritual care and bring the element of hope and encouragement to officers in the midst of the most challenging of policing situations and obstacles. The world is recognizing the value police chaplains bring to police agencies, their employees and their families.
