Church Gives Each Local Police Officer, Department Employee Stunning Gift as 'Bold Statement of Support'
As the far left in America works overtime to defund and demonize the police, a Tennessee church has decided to show its appreciation for the men and women in blue by giving each member of their local police department a $1,000 check.
According to The Christian Post, Lighthouse Missionary Baptist Church in Jonesborough collected $23,000 in a fundraiser for the police and presented the checks during a July 4 ceremony.
“Lighthouse Missionary Baptist Church of Jonesborough raised a total of $23,000 for their local department, presenting the checks in a ceremony held on Saturday morning.” https://t.co/8WTDEyL8hU
— Ruth Graham (@publicroad) July 6, 2020
The pastor of the church, Perry Cleek, cited the “debilitating lack of morale” facing police departments across the nation as the motivating factor behind his faith community’s collective act of generosity.
“We wanted to make a bold statement in support of law enforcement,” he said.
Cleek is definitely right about a “debilitating lack of morale” among law enforcement officials. The tense environment has led to 272 New York City police officers filing for retirement in the month following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody, a sharp increase from the number of cops looking to retire at this time last year.
Sadly, it looks like police officers in other major cities may also head for the exits. A recent survey found that seven in 10 Washington, D.C., officers were seriously considering quitting their jobs in law enforcement.
The ascendance of anti-law enforcement sentiment following Floyd’s death also led to the cancellation of two popular reality TV shows, “Live PD” and “Cops.” Leftist activists took umbrage with the fact that the shows painted law enforcement in a positive light. That does not go along with the narrative that all police officers are racist pigs determined to target African-Americans.
Cleek called Floyd’s death “without question an act of evil” but said “much of the response to the killing of Mr. Floyd, the looting and burning and destruction of both public and private property, the disgraceful treatment, dishonoring and demonization of law enforcement are also acts of evil.”
The pastor expressed hope that the church’s “act of support and encouragement for our local police department” would “result in many more Americans voicing their support.”
Fortunately, many other businesses and individuals in America have already done just that.
The Local Fresh Grill in Port Richey, Florida has set itself up as a “safe haven” for the police. An African immigrant living in Washington, D.C., has gone out of her way to deliver food to her local police, whom she described as “heroes.” A NASCAR driver drove a “Back the Blue” car as he raced in Homestead, Florida, last month.
Police officers have also received a hero’s welcome at two separate Cracker Barrels. At a restaurant in Alabama, a man paid for the meals of four officers eating breakfast together. Just a week later, two women paid for the meal of a deputy dining at a Cracker Barrel in Nashville, Tennessee.
Churches have been a ray of sunshine in the dark times that America and the rest of the world are currently immersed in.
A megachurch in India donated 800 tons of food to the needy in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. The Christian organization Samaritan’s Purse set up a field hospital in New York City to help deal with overcrowded hospitals as a result of the virus.
These good deeds come at a time when America and the world need Christian love and charity more than ever.
Churches, businesses and individuals across America should follow the lead of the Lighthouse Missionary Baptist Church and show their appreciation for law enforcement. This especially applies to those living in Democrat-run cities where the push to “defund the police” has the greatest chance of becoming a reality.
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