On and Off Duty
- Issue 1063 Jan 2020
- Issue 1062 Dec 2019
- Issue 1061 Nov 2019
- Issue 1060 Oct 2019
- Issue 1059 Sept 2019
In mid-November 2019, we held our annual CPA Leaders Conference. It was one of our best attended conferences so far and it was great to catch up with all our Leaders and Trustees from across the UK. During this conference we welcomed a number of new Branch Leaders as we move into 2020. We are so grateful to those who have stepped forward as some of our current leaders look to new roles and also to retirement.
A “Date” with Christmas (by Allan Spencer)
Each year Christmas brings us not only a time for celebration but also traditions that will see us eating a variety of treats and morsels generally ignored during the other 51 weeks of the year. One such delicacy is that of the humble (and generally sticky) Date. So why do we have Dates at Christmas?
It is fitting, in this November issue, that we remember all those who have died in conflicts and wars, both recent and those stretching back through recent history. We acknowledge that our freedoms, our liberty, and our ability to openly acknowledge our faith in God came at a huge price, in the lives given during times of conflict in defence of all we hold dear in our society today.
We also remember our policing colleagues who, through their death, paid the ultimate price, so that we and countless others can continue to live today in freedom and peace.
Earlier this year, CPA members and friends from across Dyfed-Powys, Gwent and South Wales Police areas came together to climb Pen-y-Fan.
It was fantastic to meet up with old friends and new CPA members that we’d never met before, and to spend time walking and talking together.
If you had any doubt about the dangerous role that YOUR Police officers carry out every day, here are just some of the serious incidents where officers have been injured, murdered or targeted for murder and serious injury. These incidents are just from August 2019. These officers were carrying out their duties in support of protecting our communities.
A recent survey carried out for Channel 4’s Dispatches programme identified that nearly 80 percent of the 1,000 officers surveyed said they had been assaulted at least once in the last 12 months.
We are humbled by the bravery of all police officers and staff across the UK. They put themselves in harm’s way to protect our communities. We hold all of them (and their loved ones) in our prayers. Please join us and Pray for your Police, every day!!!
Prayer & Reports
- Prayer Diary January 2020
- Prayer for the Police Guide
- Faith & Police Together Guide
- Annual Report 2018/19
- History of the CPA
Part of our vision is to see ‘an active and growing Branch of CPA in every Police Service in the UK’. Let us pray particularly where Forces have no active Branch, indicated in red and especially where there is no single point of contact (SPOC). Print, and pray every day!
Jesus said, ‘Could you not keep watch for one hour?’ Paul said, ‘I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for … all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Saviour’ (1 Tim. 2:1-2)
This document provides a step by step guide to help faith communities to engage with the police and to focus their passion for helping others in such a way to support the police and to find long term solutions. It is for neighbourhood police teams who feel they are fighting these challenges alone and struggling to find solutions and for faith groups who want to help but don’t know where to start.
It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to our Annual Report for 2019 and to our new President! In my third year as Executive Director, it continues to be a privilege to support all those who give their energy and time to continue the Mission and Vision of the Christian Police Association. We remain true to the inspirational vision of Catherine Gurney, who founded the Christian Police Association in 1883, as we continue to be a national voice for Christians in Policing.
2018 was a period of change and growth. Our charity operates across the majority of Police Service areas across the United Kingdom and we continue to work closely with other locations to help set up further CPA branches. I trust this annual report will give you valuable insight into some of the work we do.
Lee Russell
Executive Director
It was always the practice, in the early days of the Christian Police Association to hold the annual gathering at Exeter Hall in the Strand, London. Many well-known speakers were invited to participate, among them the famous Baptist preacher C. H. Spurgeon. He spoke to CPA on more than one occasion but his first visit was in 1890 when he gave as his title ‘Why should a policeman be a true Christian?’ As the Gurney family business was shorthand writing, it is hardly surprising that such talks were fully recorded and many appeared in the CPA magazine. The message that follows appeared in the On and Off Duty magazine for June 1890.
