Unrevealed until its season
"Seeds were sown by my ancestors and countless others so one day I would carry their spirit of grace and healing into prison. Intergenerational incarceration is a reality. So is intergenerational healing."
What if every church were in relationship with just one person releasing from prison? This issue of the Outlook explores this question while sharing opportunities for ministry with and among the incarcerated. The United States imprisons more people than any other country in the world.
Opportunities abound for churches to connect with their neighbors behind bars, practice their faith and follow the call of Matthew 25 to visit the prisoner. This issue of the Outlook is bound to inspire through stories of faith in action and the power of following our risen Christ.
"Seeds were sown by my ancestors and countless others so one day I would carry their spirit of grace and healing into prison. Intergenerational incarceration is a reality. So is intergenerational healing."
"They ask probing questions for reflection that explore everything from the value of Sunday morning services to the dynamic between women and men working together in the church setting."
"Preaching could easily serve as a seminary preaching text, although it is equally useful for seasoned pastors."
“At the heart of American response to the opioid crisis is one vexing question: is drug addiction a disease or a personal failing? Macy clearly sees it as a 'treatable disease'; recovery is possible, but not easy.”
"Resurrection, not death, is the point of the Christian faith; as Christ invited the criminal crucified on a cross next to his to join him 'this day in paradise,' so too as Christians we are called to live into resurrection here and now."
"[Tiffany Yecke] Brooks speaks directly to those who are struggling, but her writing would also benefit pastors or friends seeking to offer spiritual support."
Exploring the benefits and opportunities of McCormick Theological Seminary’s in-prison education initiative with Jia Johnson.
Teri McDowell Ott interviews church members about their experience of faithful connections with incarcerated persons.
"I met two of my greatest teachers/ in prison."
Dartinia Hull’s story of abuse, murder and her grandmother’s efforts to educate those caught in the school-to-prison pipeline.
Chris Hoke describes the genesis of a program creating relationships between releasing prisoners and churches.
"Meeting the incarcerated men, sharing conversation and learning with them was a transformative and liberating experience for me. ... Mass incarceration became more than an issue I studied, and criminal justice reform more than a need for which I advocated."
“Do you know the United States is the only country in the world that sends children to adult prisons to die?”
"The subliminal messages of prison say: You are defined by your worst mistake. ... It is Hagar’s Community Church’s goal to communicate: You are so much more ... You belong to God."
A uniform lesson for January 8, 2023.
A uniform lesson for January 1, 2023.
A uniform lesson for December 25, 2022.
"Launched in March 2022, podcast episodes explore why the hosts believe interfaith dialogue is essential today and what their religious traditions say about such timely topics as poverty, mental health and immigration."
Second Presbyterian Church in Richmond, Virginia, shares about their involvement in REAL LIFE.
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