October 10, 2006

Going “Inside”:
Community of Christ Prison Ministers

More than two million people are incarcerated in the United States, according to a 2005 report from the U.S. Department of Justice. This population of incarcerated individuals has continued to rise since the 1980s. Using the Bureau’s numbers, the International Centre for Prison Studies (University of London, United Kingdom) ranks the United States as the country with the most prisoners in the world.

Within the Community of Christ, there are members who feel called to minister to prisoners. Their commitment requires specialized training, patience, and being “street-smart.” (See the August Herald article.) These ministers find expression for their belief in the worth of all people through their ministry with incarcerated and paroled individuals.

New Levels of Sharing

More than 37 years ago, Marti Resch (Pleasant Heights congregation, Missouri) went with a church friend to help serve Christmas dinner at the Kansas Correctional Institution for Women. She now offers most of her ministry with male inmates at the Lansing Correctional Facility in Kansas.

“I do not go in to save folks,” said Marti. “I go in to accept them—not what they did—to love them where they are. Faith and belief in God can be part of them changing the decisions they make—and it usually is—but it doesn’t have to be.”

Currently Marti helps groups led by and for prisoners using the book Houses of Healing: A Prisoner’s Guide to Inner Power and Healing. “The inmates run the program themselves,” explained Marti. “Our involvement [as volunteers] depends on how much the group leaders request.”

Marti says the best hours of her week are spent “inside.” She said, “The greatest joy is the relationship with those who reside inside. They light up my life. They share on a level that is unreal outside.”

She has been working with inmates for nearly four decades and she and other volunteers have established a needed trust level. “Inmates tell us things they probably wouldn’t tell a counselor inside or may have never admitted to anybody before. They know it’s safe,” said Marti. Some of these relationships continue during and after parole as an “outside” group. “They’re like family,” she said.

A Frontier Ministry

Church planter Frank Young’s 18 years of experience offering spiritual counseling with people in custody and with addictions was helpful background for planting the Community of Christ Center in Billings, Montana, in 2000. Prison ministry involving the entire plant began in 2001.

The Center is open seven days a week. “Our church is not traditional,” Frank explained. “We meet the needs of the people we minister with.” He describes the plant as “a frontier kind of ministry—a paradigm shift from church as usual.”

By volunteering with the police department and at the Montana Women’s Prison he realized there was nothing for inmates being released. For four years, the storefront church doubled as a place where accepted parolee applicants resided for one year. Up to five women lived there at a time and participated in the Women in Recovery program.

Besides reentering society, Frank explained that most of the women were also dealing with addictions, eating disorders, and/or personality disorders. The Center arranged appropriate treatment. Frank said, “We had a lot of difficulties helping ladies adjust, coming out of an institution and into our ‘community.’”

A big part of participating in that community is learning how to effectively deal with relational issues. “If a participant has a beef with someone [including staff], we use the biblical passages in Matthew 18—we go to them. We know what the problem is, so let’s get out of the problem and into the solution.”

Frank credits the Center’s staff for the program’s effectiveness: church planter Carolyn Tew, Cindy Matney, and Diane Fredericks. They make a point to celebrate the little steps each woman takes in her life. “We all had to go through a learning process, but we put our hearts and souls into each woman,” Frank said. Another organization now sponsors the work-release program, but the church continues to focus on related needs.

The Center’s other renowned staff member, Mandy Contrarez, is area director for its Children with Incarcerated Parents (CIP) program, which was started through a grant from the church. She trains mentors and caregivers and makes weekly checks with them and the children. Frank said, “We see real transformation in these families over the course of a year.”

With all the Center’s programs, Frank emphasized that they first had to discover people’s basic needs and meet those. “Most of the people in the congregation have been incarcerated or are in [addiction] recovery,” he explained. After meeting some practical needs, “then their spiritual needs were met.”

Christ’s Presence

Pastor Eleanor St. Clair (Toussaint congregation, Ohio) recognizes that she would not have chosen prison ministry for herself. “I was called and sent,” she said. She felt too many things had been coming together for it to be a coincidence when she was asked to use her GED teaching skills to benefit inmates at the Ottawa County detention facility.

“God was certainly faithful to the promise of being with us in the dark places where we are sent,” she said; “Joy filled the classroom.” Eleanor continued, “With the Spirit that was present, I had no doubts that I belonged there.” From there she and another minister initiated a jail ministry program. Eleanor has since answered visiting requests at six prisons and a rehabilitation facility.

One inmate has become like a son to Eleanor. “He was baptized four years ago and is overwhelmed and overjoyed with the love of God, his church family, and his new relationship with Christ,” she said. “He joyously shares his testimony with others.”

One of the most powerful elements of her ministry is offering sacraments. Eleanor said, “I have witnessed people healed of addictions…and transformed by the Holy Spirit as the result of these servant ministries.” She was recently told by a former inmate, “Even if there had been a line of ministers to go to, I would have went to you because of what you teach and live.” She is certain of the special ministry offered through Community of Christ.

—Kendra Friend reporting

The 2006 Peace Colloquy, October 27–29, will focus on restorative justice and prison ministry. A lunchtime meeting on October 28 will re-launch the Community of Christ Association for Ministry with the Confined. All Colloquy attendees interested in prison ministry are invited to attend and help shape the future of this support group.

For complete Colloquy details, visit www.CofChrist.org/peacecolloquy/  or contact your pastor about recent mailings. Register online or call (816) 521-3077.

October 2006 Community of Christ Herald Vol. 153 No. 10