Sacramento chaplains will no longer be required to embrace Jesus.
Following prodding by Jewish and other religious leaders, law enforcement agencies and public officials, Law Enforcement Chaplaincy-Sacramento agreed last week to change its Christian-only hiring policy.
The state- and county-funded program had been widely criticized for requiring aspiring chaplains to sign a statement of faith “in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord” as a requisite for employment. Many, including the Sacramento Board of Supervisors and several Jewish community leaders, had questioned the legality of this measure, since the agency receives public funding.
Chaplains from the group serve the Sacramento police and sheriff’s departments by providing counseling and crisis intervention for grieving families and victims at crime scenes. While the chaplains are not accused of preaching Christianity, the group does refer to itself as “Christian-based” and uses a badge with a cross as its emblem.
Law Enforcement Chaplaincy announced its intention to allow eligibility for Jews and others at a Dec. 6 press conference. The group is expected to develop and implement more inclusive policies and procedures over the next few weeks.
Still, some in the Jewish community remain skeptical about accepting the change at face value.
“They’re talking the talk,” said Rabbi Brad Bloom. “Let’s see if they can really walk the walk.”
Bloom, who serves as spiritual leader at Congregation B’nai Israel in Sacramento, expressed concern about the underlying motives and prejudices leading to the organization’s original Christian-only hiring policy. He believes a discussion should take place in the public domain regarding safeguards for the policy changes.
“There are a lot more issues that they need to address before I will be convinced they should be given the privilege of maintaining city contracts,” he said.
Representatives from Law Enforcement Chaplaincy did not return phone calls but said in a press statement that its board of directors “is willing to adapt its service delivery model to dispel any misconceptions about the program’s motives or intent.”
While the Sacramento police and sheriff’s departments do not doubt Law Enforcement Chaplaincy’s sincerity, both indicate they will work closely with the group to ensure the changes take place.
“The sheriff and the chief of police and the chaplaincy are going to meet with different religious leaders from different faiths on a regular basis,” said Sgt. Daniel Hahn, a public information officer for the police department. “The outreach has already begun and will continue.”
Hahn, whose department had threatened to sever ties with the agency if it did not become more inclusive, applauded the group’s decision to change.
“We do believe quite faithfully that since there is no one faith in our community, and in our department for that matter, that having more faiths at our disposal will better serve the community’s needs,” he said.
“We’re very happy that they have voted to be more inclusive — it’s what we expect of our department, the city and all the people we deal with.”
The Sacramento Sheriff’s Department had yet to deliver an ultimatum to the chaplaincy group and called the change a welcome relief. “We didn’t like what we learned, but as distasteful as their practices sounded, we didn’t want to throw out 24 years of really good service,” said Capt. John McGinness.