As Ibram X. Kendi opines in his book, “How to be an Antiracist”, we all tend to generalize our thoughts about groups of people – Blacks are lazy but have special athletic skills, Asians are smart but crafty, Native Americans can’t hold their alcohol, fat people could lose weight if they wanted to, etc.  I think the media is now fueling generalizations about the police. Police are racist and/or corrupt and police departments should be defunded.  This Sunday, we’ll hear from Astoria Police Chief Geoff Spalding about the morale in his department and the challenges police are facing with increasing numbers of mentally ill on the streets.  What can we do as a congregation to support the police, our minority populations, and the mentally ill?  While we’re hearing from the Astoria Police Chief, these challenges are universal and, hopefully, some of the suggestions may be applicable to your jurisdiction as well.  Come prepared to make your own “To Do” list to help create healthy communities.