Faith Helps Overcome Challenges

Policing is a challenging job and it is vital that officers rely on their faith to find moments of peace and recharge, said Chief Myron Demkiw at the Service’s 58th annual Communion Breakfast on October 27.

“Faith has played a central role in my life,” Demkiw said. “I have relied on it during some of my most challenging times.”

In October, Demkiw rang the bell at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre after his five-year checkup confirmed that he is cancer-free.

“My faith gave me strength, resilience and hope during some of the most difficult times and helped me overcome this incredibly difficult challenge,” he said. “For me, faith is about optimism for the future, it is about values and principles and it is about camaraderie and support.

“We saw this sense of community this week at our Prayer Walk – our second city-wide Prayer Walk held in every Toronto Police Service division simultaneously. Our theme was ‘Unity in Community’ and people from all faiths and backgrounds gathered to pray and march against gun violence, and all kinds of violence and hate. Faith can help us overcome personal challenges. It can create moments of reflection in a world experiencing global challenges. And it also brings us together as communities.”

Nick Migliore, a member of the Toronto Police Service Board, said the annual event speaks to the importance of all faiths, the powerful bonding experience of fellowship and the incredible role spirituality plays in people’s lives.

“We all come together to experience friendship and mutual support,” he said. “We are both strengthened and inspired. The Toronto Police Service Board recognizes that members bring their faith backgrounds from all corners of the world. We know Service members draw spiritual strength from many sources, including religion… Today, we honour every faith and all the values and principles that guide us.

“In these changing and challenging times of policing, it is more important that we come together and share our experiences to learn from one another and inspire one another. We believe that partnership with the public is essential for safe communities to be sustained and flourish. The role of our faith leaders in meeting the challenges that we face is undeniably significant.”

New York Police Department (NYPD) Deputy Inspector Kenneth Gorman was the keynote speaker at the event.

He is an Executive Member of the NYPD Holy Name Society, which was established in 1914.

“Each of us makes a conscious decision to take on public service,” said Gorman, who is the Commanding Officer of Transit Borough Brooklyn. “But I think before that, God made a decision for us to serve. I think he knew before we did that we were taking on this challenge and I think he appreciates that in all of us. We must appreciate him and how he gets us through this very challenging career.

“We see, sometimes, the worst of humanity. But we have the faith to know that it is just a fraction of humanity and the majority of people are God’s children that he has put here and given us the honour to protect. We also see that we need faith in each other. Every day that we go out there and take on the challenges of policing, we need to have faith in our fellow officers, our fellow public servants and first responders to make sure that we come home safe and that they go home safe.”

In the winter of 1964, a small group of Toronto Police officers took their sons to mass at St. Michael’s Cathedral and then to breakfast at a local restaurant.

Ever since, officers have attended mass and then gathered for breakfast at a downtown hotel.

Saint Michael is the patron saint of police officers.

Since 2014, the St. Michael Award is presented to a Service member making significant societal contributions through humanitarian acts of kindness on and off the job.

This year’s recipient was Detective Sergeant Brian Maslowski who is the president of the board of New Visions Toronto (NVT), a non-profit organization that assists over 57 people with complex physical and developmental disabilities.

Maslowski first began supporting the organization through fundraising before organizing special events for staff and residents and visiting support home. In 2020, he became a volunteer board member, for the agency with a $10 million budget and 200 staff members and recruited finance, human resources, wellness, legal and marketing experts for board appointments.

“Brian has a heart of gold and the determination to make things happen,” said NVT Executive Director Andy Rotsma. “There is not one other volunteer in the history NVT who has done as much for the agency as he has.”

Court Services Manager Sandra Craig nominated Maslowski for the honour.

“Brian’s passion for helping people with disabilities and his dedicated support for NVT have significantly impacted the organization’s growth and his fundraising efforts have made a monumental positive impact,” she said.

“Every time I see the smile from the people we support it makes it worth it,” Maslowski said. “I just want more people to see the amazing work done by our staff to make a difference.”

In 2022 the Fred Mazzarella Memorial Scholarship was created to honour a James Cardinal McGuigan Catholic High School graduate.

Mazzarella, who in 1990 began working as a part-time Chaplain with TPS, died on Good Friday 2020 at age 87.

Noemi Welch Martinez, who aspires to be veterinarian, was this year’s recipient.

The teenager is a first-year University of Guelph student pursuing Animal Biology studies.

“I am so proud of my daughter,” said Tomasa Welch. “She is hard-working and a very good girl.”

Ryan De Sa, the founder and President of De Sa Associates, which is a personal injury law firm based in 31 Division, made the donation to start the scholarship.