After Prison: Three Stories
- Michelle Wood: SWCD
- October 18, 2009
- 1008
Our smallish church has had quite a long involvement with some form of prison ministry. That's not too surprising, as religious groups and their clergy supply free of charge much of the spiritual/religious counseling needed for inmates at city, county or provincial jail levels, as well as to larger federal or state prisons. Clergy and congregations are also extremely important to thousands of ex-offenders who try to re-enter and establish themselves as productive citizens in society.
As I began to think of my own church's involvement with persons locked up over the years, four guys came to mind. I share snippets of their stories briefly (names changed to protect them and us) to remind you of similar persons you may have encountered, and because they illustrate ways you can reach out to those often forgotten behind locked bars.
Years ago, Bo and Jo Dundee were twins who had a minor skirmish with the law traveling through our state. They were both locked up with similar sentences at a nearby minimum security "retraining" facility. After serving most of their sentences, they were both released on parole. They seemed like likeable kids who had made some bad choices and were just a little younger than my new husband and me.
A small group at our church helped them get jobs at a local poultry plant, and a room in a boarding house. All they needed was a vehicle to help them get around. I was still driving an old jalopy I had purchased from Mom and Dad to use while I was in college, but my husband and I had recently purchased a truck. So we owned three vehicles. Taking the counsel of others at church, rather than give the Dundee brothers the car outright, we decided to sell them my old car for a token amount, and co-sign on a loan they would take out in their names to repay us.
It was not too surprising when before long, not only had they run my trusty old Chevy so hard the engine dropped out of it (OK, it was very old), but never made more than a couple partial payments on the loan. They soon moved away.
We trust they learned their lessons and hope they have stayed out of jail. At least we gave them a chance. I learned some lessons, too, including not to get soured on helping others when things don't work out.
A second man, who I'll call David, became involved in drugs at an early age, having learned the trade from his own father's knee. He stayed a short while at the extra room at our church we keep for such purposes, and right before he was imprisoned, he committed his life to Jesus and received the sacrament of baptism. We corresponded with him while he served his sentence. He got out and was soon set up with an apartment and job.
He was very happy and seemed committed. However, the pull of drugs remained so strong that before a year was up, he was back in prison. Currently he is up for parole again and is determined to live a clean and sober life. We hope and pray that will happen, but it will take strong resolve and a strong support system.
A third man, Ted, served a very long sentence. I was never sure what his crime was, but he paid his debt and learned his lessons well enough that even though he was in late middle age when he got out, he proceeded to live an upstanding life. Eventually, he even had his citizenship restored and could vote again.
He held his job (again at a poultry plant), came to church almost every Sunday, was an enthusiastic church member, participated in a small group, and even served on a denominational task force studying our justice and correctional systems. His only vice as he lived out his life among us, was a strong cigarette habit, but he would excuse himself for a smoke outside. When he died sometime in his upper 70s, he left a small insurance policy to the church.
We buried his ashes near a tree on our grounds, truly a beloved member of our community. For many years he was the only African American at our church and didn't seem to mind. He lived out his days in a simple apartment with few luxuries by this world's standards and I'm sure it wasn't easy, but he could be justifiably proud of his record after leaving prison.
This is the kind of record that we wish for all of those who make a mistake, go astray, make bad choices or succumb to the ravages of drug use and manufacture. Ted always seemed to appreciate his church family, maybe because there was little evidence of any blood family with whom he was still connected. That's sad, because "family" is certainly the other leg helping inmates make a successful adjustment to life on the outside. In the final column in this series, we'll look at a modern "Ted" who happens to be a young woman and how she is making it in her new life after incarceration.
For a free pamphlet for persons anticipating release from a correctional institution, write for the title, "How to create a re-entry plan." Send to melodied@ThirdWayMedia.org or Another Way, Box 22, Harrisonburg, Va., 22802. (Include your paper's name in your response.)
You can also visit Another Way on the Web at www.thirdway.com.
Melodie Davis is the author of seven books and has written Another Way since 1987. She and her husband have three adult daughters.