By Mary O’KEEFE

There is a group of spiritual leaders in the community that have made themselves available not only for their own congregation but for those outside their normal ministries through the Clergy Academy.

“The Clergy Academy is a six-week training program, two to three hours per week, that we [go] through to become Sheriff Chaplains,” said Rev. Beverly Craig, founder of the Clergy Academy at Crescenta Valley Sheriff Station and pastor at the Center for Spiritual Living – La Crescenta. “Our purpose is to support the deputies in prayer or in our own ecumenical ways, whichever way we do it, and to support the functions,” she said in an earlier interview.

After they complete the academy, the spiritual leaders become part of the Clergy Council.

“[The Clergy Council] supports our deputies and inmates,” said Dep. Alex Covian.

Covian said the spiritual leaders support in a variety of ways, from people who have been in a traffic collision to those that have suffered a violent crime, but they are there for the deputies and inmates as well. Deputies have found that, often, the inmates are more responsive to a spiritual leader than a law enforcement officer.

“We have a Prayer Box at the station for Sheriff’s personnel. On Sunday mornings Pastor Tim Beck visits the inmates and has a service for them,” Craig said.

The service may not be traditional but is adapted to the inmates each week to help in the way each inmate may need it.

The group meets the second Monday of every month at 11 a.m. at the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station, as they have for the last 15 years.

“The original Clergy Council I was in died,” Craig said in an earlier interview. “And then [former CV Sheriff’s Station captain David] Silversparre came to town and he wanted to start up the [Clergy Council] again. And I was the only one they could find. So I called everybody I knew and we got started again. I can’t tell you exactly how many years but it has been going for a while now. And our purpose is to support the deputies and the volunteers. [Former Captain Christopher Blasnek]  allowed us to have a prayer request box. No other captains ever let us do that. We pray for the deputies, we pray for the community, and we’re available for one-on-one if any deputy wants to call us or any volunteer wants to call us, we are available to talk and pray with them.”

The Clergy Council numbers have dwindled over that last few years. Craig invites everyone, from all denominations, to join the Council.

“I think [its important] because I believe everything, everything, can be handled in prayer. I honestly believe that. And we pray daily for our deputies, we pray daily for them – individually and then when we are in our meeting, we pray for them there. So our Clergy Council, besides doing the spiritual work, we’re volunteers,” Craig said. “Basically what we are is spiritual back-up for the deputies.”

For more information or to join the Clergy Council email Rev. Craig at lccrs@earthlink.net or call the CV Sheriff’s Station, (818) 248-3464 and ask for Dep. Covian.

  Mary Okeefe