prison ministry Archives - Lisa Colón DeLay

Dispatch from Prison: The Question I Couldn’t Answer

inmatereading

“Why don’t people from your church come and help you here? It says it the Bible to visit us…”

A man asked me this question at the end of class.
He was an inmate: a lifer.

Prison is a place of lasting aloneness. A place where you are reminded that you are forgotten.

Trying to overcome it is a big deal.

Volunteer groups are cherished by inmates like fresh air. They thank us each time we come.

I didn’t know how to answer him. I sort of felt crushed.

Not just that he would ask, but that the truth was so simple and unreachable.

He suggested I speak to my church and invite them to participate. I already had.

“It does say that is the Bible. You’re right. I don’t know….

I’m sorry,” I told him.

“What keeps them from coming?” another man asked.

“Maybe because all people know about prison is what they see in movies. Maybe they are afraid.” I said.

That comment incited and 3 page letter the prisoner brought back the next week to help convince people from our church that they were not violent and they were also Christians who love the Lord, were re-paying their debt to society, and wanted the support and Christian brotherhood.

But, nothing like that can be taken out of a prison. (It’s a felony.) He had to keep his correspondence. I thought he was going to cry when he explained that he needed to keep what he wrote. Abandonment? That was probably what I was on his face.

It’s heartbreaking.

But, I also wondered if some of the reasons were really a greater indictment on Christians and human nature.

• Laziness

• Lack of compassion

• Self-centeredness

• Distain for outcasts

Could this be it?

If I asked people from my church, face-to-face this time, what keeps them from being involved, they might say,

“I’m just too busy.”

Or “I’m not really interested in that (in them).”

Or, “I don’t like criminals. They deserve to be where they are and we shouldn’t make things easier for them.”

or maybe,

“I’d rather be doing two million different things than that!”

And whatever the reasons, good or not, they hamper the work of Love.

Dispatch from Prison Ministry: on Life Sentences

It’s hard for me to think about being anywhere for more than a few years.

Do you like staying in one spot? Or do you like the idea of finding a new place to live, or at least getting away for a vacation destination?

When I was growing up we moved about every 3-4 years.

Then, for about 7 years we lived in a rural area just outside Murrysville, PA (east of Pittsburgh). Though I lived the same house that whole time, my parents marriage blew apart and my dad got his own place. At that point I was sort of “moving” every other weekend when I went to see him.

Then at 16, I began to bounce around again. Two years living with my dad and his wife, then college (continual moving every few months), then a newlywed apartment, and then our first home purchased. But, since 2001 Tim and I have lived in one spot and raised two children.

They can’t possibly appreciate the stability this has given them, but I’m happy it’s worked out this way for them. I didn’t think we’d settle down here in the boonies or for this long. There isn’t much civilization…not even a Starbucks closer than 27.7 miles away. (Yes, I just checked.)

I’ve been itchy to go and find some new place to live for about a decade.

That’s one reason the concept of a life sentence is so hard to really grasp. It’s a revolting thought.

More than a few of the men I work with in prison ministry will die in jail. Some of them have 30, 40, and 50 year + sentences. A few have a official life or life + sentences.

This situation can make incarcerated men (and women) do crazy, bitter things. “What do I have to lose?” they think.

Penitentiaries are for inmates who commit violent crimes or for inmates who hurt or kill other inmates. They are places where the most violent, disturbed, and sick criminals go.

Where I minister is not a penitentiary. It’s a prison. Most of the inmates are “non violent” offenders. Some of them have done violent things, but they got away with them and were imprisoned for other sorts of crimes. Many have had drug addictions or they did gang or drug-related crime, like stealing, scamming, or running money or drugs for dealer higher- on the food chain. They don’t tend rapists and killers, etc.

Some of the guys did do awful things, but they behaved themselves for 10-20 years and got moved into the prison setting as a reward.

These men understand the privilege it is to be there, and they don’t want to be sent back to the pen.

Still, many struggle with lack of purpose, regret, sadness, boredom, dealing annoying or difficult cell mates, and missing family and friends.

Some lifers find it hard to stay positive. Not surprising, of course.

But here’s the real miracle:

Some lifers try to make the world a better place–their small world. They are (mostly) peaceful and transformed.

Really, you meet all types in prison. You see every mood and attitude. You see all levels of education. All colors of skin. All kinds of hair dos. All shapes and sizes. All economic and social class backgrounds…from guys who lived on the streets to ivy league college graduates, the prison has them.

But the thing that really makes the biggest impact for me lately is getting to know the guys that are grateful and joyful even though they know and everyone else knows they will die behind bars. They will never be freed no matter what good they do or how changed they become. They try to be good and do good because it’s the right thing, not because their situation will improve.

I find that inspirational.

This means that in prison ministry you get the chance to question your own (sometimes) poor attitudes because you can see people in these “lifer situations” go out of their way to be kind, thoughtful, and pleasant; or helpful, generous, and happy.

You ask yourself:

“What’s so bad about my life, really?”

You find some inspiration to say:

“I have my freedom, and for that I should and will be grateful.”

No, not everything is just how we want it to be, but we can take a lesson from these sorts of prisoners.

Besides, our attitudes can be a prison, can’t they?

We may have our freedom, but we may chose a cell of our own making.

YES, 3 New Designs for you

See the new stuff?
Pretty cool, huh?

I’ve decided to create something you might like, and use all the proceeds to fund my work with prison inmates.

This is a limited run of original art.

When you purchase one of these gems, you won’t just have obvious, awesome coolness about you, you will be directly helping me minister to inmates.

I’m training and teaching them crucial life skills to be successful, productive, and law-abiding citizens when they return to life outside prison.

Criminals shouldn’t be forgotten. They should be transformed. That’s my mission. You can help.

Getting a shirt or tote is an easy WIN-WIN.

So, SHARE-SHARE. Spread the word.

This is the PRE-Order phase.
(Only 250 will be made, so jump in and pre-order soon.)

Thank you for your help.

I hope you enjoy sporting these designs as much as I enjoyed creating them.

[NOTE: Monthly sponsors (partners) get all the creations I come up with and extra treats too. Quarterly goodie packages full of surprises are delivered to your door. Click here for more info.]

Click to for access to my Original Animal Art – on a Shirt or Tote (3 choices, lots of awesomeness).

Hell's Angels, Drug Dealers, and Bad Asses: A Mission Field

Guess who’s on the margins when it comes to hearing about God’s grace?

Sure, Harley Davidson has mainstreamed, and its product logo is on everything from sunglasses to underwear, but a big segment of the riders are unreached by genuine Christian love. Some riders are just bad-boy posers who take their expensive bikes out after a hard day in the cubicle, but other riders have lives filled with pain, substance abuse, violence, crime, and are looking hard for hope, or have all but given up in despair. Plenty more, are somewhere in the middle.

My mom’s church has a special ministry for those who ride.

Each Spring they hold a big gathering called The Blessing of the Bikes. It’s a time to gather, talk shop, and pray for a safe riding season. A gospel message is preached, “Blessing” shirts are sold, riding buddies are made, Bibles are given out, and folks from all over come in hopes that prayer will keep them safe. Thousands attend.

Each week, the Murrysville Alliance Church has a few scheduled group rides (MAC riders: They even have their own patches. woe.). The ministry has been so helpful, and well-received, that ashtray receptacles have had to be installed outside the church, the building expanded, and they’ll soon have to go to three services on Sundays. You should see all the tattoos, beards, bandanas, and leather in that place on a Sunday morning. It’s a place awash in the grace and Spirit of God in there, and awfully noisy when they start up their bikes to leave after the service too!

WPXI Channel 11 in Pittsburgh has video of the event this year. It’s worth a look!