PRISON FELLOWSHIP BLOG: Uncategorized

A recent poll taken by Christianity Today International indicates that 80 percent of churchgoers believe convicted sex offenders should be attending church, provided proper precautions are taken.

Poll participants were less enthusiastic about those offenders serving in various ministries in the church, with roughly half those responding in the affirmative, and only 26 percent of responders in favor of these individuals serving in leadership positions in the congregations.

In January, Michael Helfrich was sworn in as the newest member of the York (PA) city council.  Calling himself a “fiscally conservative social liberal,” Helfrich built a reputation as an advocate for environmental advocate for clean waterways in the eastern Pennsylvania community.

Every year California state prisons release thousands of prisoners, most of whom return to the state’s inner cities, where poverty and crime walk hand in hand. Today, Prison Fellowship, the nation’s largest outreach to prisoners, and World Impact, a Christian missions organization committed to serving the urban poor, announced the expansion of their leadership training program for prisoners.

It's hard to be a Christian—especially in prison. Behind bars, prisoners' Christian faith is challenged from every direction from the very first day.

The New York Times has a new feature called “Room for Debate,” which invites outside contributors to discuss current news events and issues facing the culture. This week, Craig DeRoche, former House Speaker of Michigan and now Director of External Affairs at Justice Fellowship, contributes his first column on A Failing Criminal Justice System.

For forty days Jesus fasted in the desert and wrestled with the devil, then He returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit.  But the devil was no quitter, he also left the desert continuing to scheme and contrive ways of tempting Jesus. 

The state legislature of Wyoming is reviewing a proposal to turn an unused prison building into a nursery that will house inmates and their infant children, and will offer overnight stays for children up to six years old.

Between 2007 and 2010, 17 women were already pregnant when admitted to the prison in Wyoming Women’s Center. 

Jamais is less than four feet tall, but he can dunk on a regulation-height basketball hoop! At least, he can when he gets lifted into the air by Brandon Burrows, an inside linebacker for the University of Georgia Bulldogs, who, conveniently for Jamais, stands six-foot-three.

A recent reality show in Canada offered 10 former inmates the opportunity to start their own businesses, with the winner receiving $10,000 of start-up money from venture capitalist Kevin O’Leary.

According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation website, Redemption, Inc. offers former prisoners “tough and revealing challenges that will test, demonstrate and improve their natural abilities, and expose their character flaws, gradually moving them away from their illegal past and ever closer to a legal enterprise of their own.”

Interacting with the criminal justice system can be confusing and frightening, especially for a prisoner's child.

A recent New York Times article looks at a growing problem within the modern prison system.  An aging prison popluation – with many inmates who are uneducated, dealing with depression, and the products of years of rough living – is now facing an increasing number of cases of dementia. 

For me, Lent has often been difficult, the most dull and boring season of the Christian year. As much as I look forward to Easter, I do not look forward to the long arduous process of Lent, with its focus on self- denial, and discipline, and self-examination.

In January, the state of Montana requested bids from contractors to build a 120-bed, medium security prison.  These plans are now on hold – a response to decreasing recidivism prison officials are attributing to prison reentry programs.

Nationwide, about 700,000 inmates are released from prison every year. 

One of the major difficulties any recently-released prisoner faces is finding employment.  Many employers are hesitant to hire an ex-offender, for fear that he or she might be unreliable or, worse, that they might be held liable for future offenses committed by the new employee during work hours.

Since 2006, Prison Fellowship’s Angel Tree program has been sponsoring a football camp for disadvantaged youth at Stanford University.  Current and former NFL players and coaches volunteer their services for the free camp, which serves boys ages 7 to 13 from northern and central California, many who have a parent behind bars.