Facebook Group Guidelines

Thank you all for joining the Police Chaplain Coffee Shop and supporting our work at ChaplainUSA.org. 

Our mission is to support police chaplains - hence, we work hard to ensure that our Facebook Page and Group is a trusted space for professional police chaplain organizations. 

Police Chaplain Coffee Shop is a Facebook Group for police chaplains, retired police chaplains, and those who police chaplains invite.

Facebook Guidelines

Thank you all for joining the Police Chaplain Coffee Shop and supporting our work at ChaplainUSA.org.

Our mission is to support police chaplains - hence, we work hard to ensure that our Facebook Page and Group is a trusted space for professional police chaplain organizations.

For this reason, we keep our content focused on chaplaincy, using the non-denominational guidelines of International Conference of Police Chaplains (ICPC) as a way to frame content.

If some content is not shared, it is NOT because we object to religious content, but rather that we want to keep this small corner of the internet focused on chaplain training.

Doing so helps us reach more chaplains and more members of the law enforcement community.

This is also the reason we rarely post “third party links” to places like CNN or other off-Facebook sites.

Facebook demotes those kinds of posts.

The only exception are links to other Facebook Groups officially partnered with ChaplainUSA.

That said, we’d love to hear your voice! Please share your thoughts within in the Group or Page through Commenting or Creating a Post from scratch that addresses the concerns of chaplains.

We appreciate your support and are so glad to count you as a member.

Police Chaplain Coffee Shop

ps.

If you have written content related to police chaplaincy, or have information or ideas you would like to share with our audience and beyond, please contact us. We are always honored to work with chaplains in developing educational content for our community.

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Rules for the Police Chaplain Coffee Shop

1

Posts must be about police chaplains or of interest to police chaplains.

The way to fix this is to use the magic words: "Police chaplain" in your post.

The words can transform a picture of a cat into something meaningful for chaplains. For

instance...

"Police chaplains and cats have a lot in common ... we both are present, we both listen,

we both comfort."

Thanks to our cat Whiskers for teaching me the best way to heal a troubled soul is to

listen. Every police chaplain should have a cat.

2

Share Links to Websites in Comments

The Facebook algorithm determines which posts people see every time they check their

Facebook feed,

Coffee Shop has 2K members, but only a fraction see the Group's content in their feed.

One reason is FB favors posts that keep people on Facebook. So if you have an external

link to share, include it in Comments under your post so that more of our members see it.

3

Don't Post Links to Websites

Don't post links to destinations off Facebook.

Facebook tends not to share links that take people away from its platform.

Better to link to similar content on Facebook.

(Rather than link to the LAPD Website, link to the LAPD's Facebook page. Rather than link

to a news event on CNN's site, search for a posting from the impacted a police department

on their Facebook page.)

If you like we can help you find a Facebook alternative link for the content you wish to

share.

You may share links in the Reply section under the Post

4

Share what is on your heart.

Post what you have been thinking about. I call it a "here is what is on my heart" post.

It's a post that starts from Scratch....in your head.

It is about something you have been thinking about overnight….while away from the

computer.

It starts like this....

"Last night I was thinking about my grandchildren and how much has changed since I went

to school."

After reading it, invite other chaplains to chime in.

5

Adhere to the ICPC Code of Ethics

Our mission is to support police chaplains hence, we work hard to ensure that our

Facebook Page and Group is a trusted space for professional police chaplain

organizations.

For this reason, we adhere to the International Conference of Police Chaplains Canon of

Ethics for Law Enforcement Chaplains.

By following these guidelines when we post, other groups and agencies can confidently

share our content, which helps us reach more chaplains and more members of the law

enforcement community.

6

An elevator full of police chaplains.

That is not a quiet place. It is a place of laughter and good vibes. It is a place where you

feel the power!

Police Chaplain Coffee Shop is about chaplains talking to one another. When chaplains

visit, they need to feel the power of a chaplain community. Speak freely. You are among

friends.

7

Share your life. Big stuff, Little stuff.

In the Police Chaplain Coffee Shop, police chaplains ARE the news.

What you think is the news. How you cope, your spouse, your kids, your dog or cat, what

shows you watch on Netflix…these ARE the news in the Police Chaplain Coffee Shop.

8

Books and Blogs

If you have written content related to police chaplaincy - a book, a blog, etc - we would

love to share that information. Bring it on!

9

We all break the rules sometimes.

If you are an active member of any group on Facebook, you've probably unknowingly

broken the Group's posting rules.

Trying to consistently enforce the rules is a challenge, but bear with us.

Read over the rules and when you do cross over the line, we will work with you to fix the

problem. Please know that your participation here is truly appreciated.

1 Focus on Chaplaincy

Posts must be about police chaplains or of interest to police chaplains.

The way to fix this is to use the magic words: "Police chaplain" in your post.

The words can transform a picture of a cat into something meaningful for chaplains. For

instance...

"Police chaplains and cats have a lot in common ... we both are present, we both listen,

we both comfort."

Thanks to our cat Whiskers for teaching me the best way to heal a troubled soul is to

listen. Every police chaplain should have a cat.

2 Share Links to Websites in Comments

The Facebook algorithm determines which posts people see every time they check their

Facebook feed,

Coffee Shop has 2K members, but only a fraction see the Group's content in their feed.

One reason is FB favors posts that keep people on Facebook. So if you have an external

link to share, include it in Comments under your post so that more of our members see it.

3 Post Original Content. Don't Post Links to Websites

Don't post links to destinations off Facebook.

Facebook tends not to share links that take people away from its platform.

Better to link to similar content on Facebook.

(Rather than link to the LAPD Website, link to the LAPD's Facebook page. Rather than link

to a news event on CNN's site, search for a posting from the impacted a police department

on their Facebook page.)

If you like we can help you find a Facebook alternative link for the content you wish to

share. You may share links in the Reply section under the Post

4

Share what is on your heart.

Post what you have been thinking about. I call it a "here is what is on my heart" post.

It's a post that starts from Scratch....in your head.

It is about something you have been thinking about overnight….while away from the

computer.

It starts like this....

"Last night I was thinking about my grandchildren and how much has changed since I went

to school."

After reading it, invite other chaplains to chime in.

5 Adhere to the ICPC Code of Ethics

Our mission is to support police chaplains hence, we work hard to ensure that our

Facebook Page and Group is a trusted space for professional police chaplain

organizations.

For this reason, we adhere to the International Conference of Police Chaplains Canon of

Ethics for Law Enforcement Chaplains.

By following these guidelines when we post, other groups and agencies can confidently

share our content, which helps us reach more chaplains and more members of the law

enforcement community.

6

An elevator full of police chaplains.

That is not a quiet place. It is a place of laughter and good vibes. It is a place where you

feel the power!

Police Chaplain Coffee Shop is about chaplains talking to one another. When chaplains

visit, they need to feel the power of a chaplain community. Speak freely. You are among

friends.

7

Share your life. Big stuff, Little stuff.

In the Police Chaplain Coffee Shop, police chaplains ARE the news.

What you think is the news. How you cope, your spouse, your kids, your dog or cat, what

shows you watch on Netflix…these ARE the news in the Police Chaplain Coffee Shop.

8

Books and Blogs

If you have written content related to police chaplaincy - a book, a blog, etc - we would

love to share that information. Bring it on!

9

We all break the rules sometimes.

If you are an active member of any group on Facebook, you've probably unknowingly

broken the Group's posting rules.

Trying to consistently enforce the rules is a challenge, but bear with us.

Read over the rules and when you do cross over the line, we will work with you to fix the

problem. Please know that your participation here is truly appreciated.