Prison Ministry: How It Changed Me BY REV. JOHN COLLINS There were eight of us. Methodist pastors invited to Green Haven Prison in 1970 by Ed Muller, legendary chaplain. We spent three sessions with men in Ed’s weekly Exodus program at Eastern Correctional Facility. To listen to these men—many serving life sentences—talk about how the group changed their life and how they were now committed to bringing about change in the world and in their own lives, even from behind prison walls, was life-changing. It led me to visit two men on death row and become involved in an effort that led to a Christmas clemency for one of them. In the 1980s, Muller and Bill Webber, then president of New York Theological School, worked together to get approval for a new master’s degree program at Sing Sing prison. That program has now graduated more than 300 men, whose lives have been transformed. And of those who have since been released, the recidivism rate is nearly zero. Many are now pastors, social workers, chaplains and community organizers. Those who remain in prison continue a ministry of working with their fellow prisoners. Many of these teach in the Rising Hope program, begun by Webber to help inmates obtain their bachelor in arts degree. Several years ago, I was invited to teach in Rising Hope at the Fishkill Correctional Facility. I team-teach with graduates of the Sing Sing program, who are called “facilitators,” because the Department of Corrections does not recognize them as instructors. One night a week, I make the 130-mile round trip to Fishkill to teach for two hours. Each year, we have a new class of men seeking to advance their education and change their lives. Courses include subjects as diverse as public speaking, pastoral care, and world religions. I have co-taught courses in ethics, history of Christianity, contemporary theology, each year to a new class of about 20 men. They are highly motivated and it is an exciting and challenging experience. The men who are my co-teachers would be comfortable in college teaching positions anywhere. Although we are prohibited from personal involvement with the students, I am able to write letters to the parole board on their behalf. Several have been released on parole. Three years ago, one of these, “Benny” was released from prison and we invited him to preach at my church, Memorial UMC in White Plains. Shortly after that I asked him to invite five other formerly incarcerated men to meet with a group of new clergy in the Compass program of the Board of Ordained Ministry. This led to invitations for the men to preach at several UM churches, including Peekskill, South Ozone Park, Union (Brooklyn), and Oceanside, and to ongoing relationships with several. Today, Benny is a certified chaplain and an employment specialist at a non-profit organization, where he works with the mental health, substance abuse, & reentry population. Subsequently, he helps at risk youth and men and women coming out of prison to secure employment. Before he went to prison 23 years ago for a crime he never commited, Benny was a gang leader of one of the largest gangs in New York. He is now using those leadership skills to help others and to lead many to faith. Prison ministry has given new meaning to my Christian faith and introduced me to a whole new community of prisoners and the formerly incarcerated. I have recruited several pastors and lay folk to teach in Rising Hope. I recommend it and prison ministry in general. After all, I meet Jesus every week behind the prison walls!
Posted on: Sat, 13 Dec 2014 18:35:20 +0000