An African-American pastor has launched a prayer campaign for police officers around the nation in wake of the murders of two NYPD cops. Emergency responders and civilians across the nation held memorials and candle light vigils for the slain officers.
Bishop E.W. Jackson, president of STAND (Staying True to Americas National Destiny), started the Prayer For Police Campaign since the protests against the police over the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner began.
"I have been saying that this like that police out hunting down black men has got to stop. We now have two cops murdered in cold blood," he said. "It's time for Americans to express our gratitude to our police officers."
According to Christian News Wire, Jackson and his organization have created a prayer card which says:
When the job is hard.
When the pressure is great.
When you wonder,
"Does anyone appreciate?"
Just know that for all the work you do,
Someone is praying and thinking of you.
For your duty and honor in difficult times,
God in heaven makes His face shine.
He looks upon you from above.
To inspire you with courage and love.
May He give you the strength
To make one more round.
At the end of your shift,
To go home safe and sound.
May you fight the good fight,
And live by His grace.
When your work here is done,
You'll see His loving face.
Jackson, who is the Bishop of The Called Church and Senior Fellow of Family Research Council, reminds all of the heroic actions of the NYPD law enforcements on the heel of 911, "When the Trade Towers were falling, they ran toward those buildings while everyone else ran away. We should never forget that."
Officer Rafael Ramos and his partner, Wenjian Liu, were shot and killed on Saturday by a gunman who turned the gun on himself inside a New York City subway station.
According to The Christian Post, Ramos was due to graduate this past Saturday with 144 other people as a Christian chaplain, and was remembered as a kind man by Rev. Marcos Miranda, president of New York State Chaplain Task Force.
"It was an honor to have him," said Miranda. "He had just taken the 10-week course and was a faithful member of his local church, Christ Tabernacle.... Ramos would have been a lay leader and been endorsed by his denomination."
Ramos' cousin, Ronnie, shared with The Wall Street Journal that Ramos didn't deserve to die. "My cousin had a couple of priorities in life. One was God, because he was a God-loving man. I wish I could be half the man my cousin was."
"He's in the hands of God now," he told PIX 11 News. "We don't believe in vengence, we just forgive."
Emergency responders and civilians across the country also held memorials and candlelight vigil to honor the Ramos and Liu. In Louisville, Kentucky, crowd gathered to sing songs and condemn violence against law enforcement.
"They weren't engaged in any activity, they weren't offending anybody's rights, they weren't stepping outside their plans, they were sitting in their squad card like we do thousands of times over our career," said New Albany Police Capt. Eric Higdon, according to wlky.com.
STAND's prayer card that Bishop E.W. Jackson launched may be ordered through standamerica.us website for distribution to police officers in local communities.
