Easter Behind Bars: The Transforming Power of Christ
Easter Behind Bars: The Transforming Power of Christ
Mark L. Earley
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Isn’t it just like God to transform a roomful of downcast women clad in shabby prison garb into women adorned with the hope of the risen Christ? It was an Easter unlike any we’ve witnessed in 30 years!
On Easter Sunday, Chuck and I were joined by several donors, volunteers, and college students from around the country to bring the message of Christ’s Resurrection to the inmates at the Ohio Reformatory for Women, the state’s oldest prison with a population of 2,013. We were also joined by Gary Sims, the chief of chaplains for Ohio, who is doing an incredible job recruiting chaplains who truly love inmates and who believe that God can transform them.
Warden Pat Andrews met us at the gate at 10:30 a.m. We quickly realized that she was a very dynamic leader who cared deeply for the inmates. She welcomed us warmly to the prison, and, within the first hour of the schedule, she took the time to hold an impromptu Q & A session with us.
We asked her if we could start the service a little earlier than planned, so she led us to the chow hall so we could encourage the women to join us in the gym as soon as they finished eating. It was such a blessing to walk, table to table, greeting the women as they ate their Easter meal of roast beef, mashed potatoes, and chocolate cake. Almost all of the women we met told us that they intended to come to the service.
A few volunteers also had an opportunity to visit women confined to the prison hospital, especially those who would not be able to attend the service. Two women they met could not leave their room or even open their door, but the volunteers spoke with the women through the window in their door and prayed for them.
