When S first came to Alpha, she was angry and highly volatile emotionally, alternating between tears and emotional outbursts, which she struggled to control. Her life is a sad but rather typical story of most women in prison, a story of physical and sexual abuse as a child and as a teenager. Her personal suffering lead to attempts to deaden her pain with drugs and alcohol.
I had just asked my small group: "Do you have a story to tell of what God has done in your life?" S was one of the first to... read more
Blog
An Oasis In Prison
Harold
Sawyer, a former Free Inside Alpha team leader encourages a friend to reach
those in prison by joining a team of Alpha volunteers. Harold has moved to Los
Angeles, California.
"I
was with Peter Dewberry yesterday and talked about you. I would like to ask
that you consider helping with the Alpha Program. They could really use a
strong person like you in York. In my experience, it is one of the most
effective tools Jesus uses in that environment.
Let me explain why.
As
program leaders and facilitators we go in as Christian peers, not teachers.
That changes the dynamics of the support and love we can give the inmates bringing
something they rarely ever experience in prison. They are always subservient.
As facilitators, we do keep order and occasionally have to tell someone that
they are not being appropriate.But Nicky Gumbel is the teacher on a video.We make it a point to let the participants know that their
feelings are just as valid as our's is.
The
Alpha program covers basics of the Christian faith, in a systematic and
practical way. It is easy to forget that most inmates don't even understand the
basics. The program has been put together with much thought and prayer. It is
informative and fun to watch. At the end of Alpha 1, they have received a clear
presentation of what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus
Christ.
In some ways it is like very good marriage counseling before the
wedding. To carry the wedding metaphor a little further, we pray for and encourage
those who come on Alpha to make an informed decision to be united with Jesus
Christ.
When
the program is run correctly, you start with a joke (probably the only clean
ones they hear) and a time of praise. We laugh a lot and they often learn for
the first time that becoming a Christian is a happy, fun thing, as well as a
sobering commitment. The structure of the program helps us keep things
positive.An oasis in that
environment.
The
best part of the program is group discussion after the videos.This is one of the few times in their
prison experience that they get the chance to discuss how they feel about a
topic.As they speak, the Holy
Spirit helps them process whatever He is doing in their hearts.
Last
but not least, the environment of Alpha is non-coercive.People who have been turned off by
manipulative evangelism are encouraged to sit back and think through the
implications of a commitment to Jesus Christ. The focus is always on Jesus
Christ.They are prayed for and
they become part of a loving Christian community. The Holy Spirit does miracles in their hearts. Alpha
volunteers work hard to foster a welcoming, positive happy and safe environment
that enables participants to "Consider the Questions of Life."
1,300 young people in Budapest Hungary, celebrate the Resurrection this past Easter. The event took place in a square in the center of the city.
Posted on 9/23/2010 by Peter Dewberry
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Why America locks up too many people, reads the headline of an editorial in "The Economist" of July, 24 2010. It's a question that every tax-paying American needs to answer, for the following reasons: 1. Justice is harsher in America than in any other rich country. Between 2.3 million and 2.4 million Americans are behind bars, roughly one in every 100 adults. Include those on parole or probation, and the ration jumps to one adult in 31 under "correctional" supervision.
Proportionately, The USA incarcerates five times more people than Britain, nine times more than Germany and 12 times more than Japan. Overcrowding is the norm. Federal prisons house 60% more inmates than they were designed for. State
lock-ups are only slightly less stuffed. 2. Simple economics; the
cost of our long love affair with lock and key. How much does it cost American tax-payers to keep nearly 2.5 million people in prison every year? According to a report released in 2008 by the nonpartisan Pew Center on the States it costs state governments nearly $51.7 billion a year, in addition to more than $5 billion spent by the federal government. This averages out to about $30,000 per prisoner. The dollar amounts quoted above do not include the cost of child welfare payments and medicaid costs for the dependents of those in prison. Clearly our long love affair with lock and key costs tax-payers more than we realize. Some will argue that this is a price worth paying to keep our citizens safe. But this begs the question; "do harsher penalties reduce crime?" As yet no convincing evidence has been produced to show that locking up more people actually makes our communities any safer. Are there alternatives? We will explore possible alternatives in an up coming article. Sources: The Economist, Pew Center on the States, The Denver Post.
An inspiring story of how inmates in a Canadian prison responded to the needs of the poor in Egypt.
Sherrill is an Alpha volunteer in a Canadian prison for women, she recently shared at the Alpha for Prisons weekly prayer call the inspiring story of how approximately 150 inmates in her facility responded to the need of poor widows in Egypt.
A prison officer and the Chaplain went on a short term mission trip to Egypt, under the auspices of "Think and Do". The founder of "Think and Do" is an Egyptian Christian leader, whose vision is to serve poor communities in Egypt; spiritually, psychologically and materially.
One of their projects gives poor widows a pair of ducks so that they can start a self-sustaining business. $17.00 provides a pair of ducks.
An enthusiastic Chaplain inspires others
The Chaplain came back fired up by this mission, she shared her experiences with the inmates challenging them to give toward "The Ducks for Widows"project. The 150 inmates in the facility responded enthusiastically and raised a total of $900.00 Then the Chaplain challenged the volunteers and staff to contribute as well, and a further $2,100.00 was raised, for a total of $3,000.00
Going back to Egypt
The officer plans to go again and has invited Sherrill to join the group. As word spread, other staff members expressed interest in going, so it is likely that an interesting group of people, some Christians and even a few who don't profess faith will go next time.
Praise and Prayer
Sherrill asks all who read this to praise God for the response to the fund, especially from the inmates who gave sacrificially from their meager commissary accounts. A real example of Jesus' parable of the poor widow in Luke 21: 1 - 4. "He . . . saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. "I tell you the truth," he said, "this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these . . . gave . . . out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on."
Many studies have shown that the poor are proportionately more generous than those better off.
Please also pray for the next trip to Egypt that God would make it a transforming experience for everyone.
A weblog implies that something is posted regularly, if not daily, then at least frequently enough to keep it fresh. I am intimidated by having to produce something frequently, let alone daily. By those standards this 'blog' probably is therefore, not a blog as such. I'm at a loss as to what I should call it, so for now until something better comes along this is my "Not-a-Blog" Blog"
However in this "Not-a-Blog" Blog I will endeavor to keep posts as current as possible.
Some posts will be related to prison ministry and criminal justice issues, but some will cover other topics.
Posted on 5/31/2010 by Peter Dewberry
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