According to the Book of Order...

This semester I am taking the Cross and the State class along with Presbyterian History and Polity.  I am actually beginning to like the Book of Order...alot (and so are several of my classmates)!  I assume that most of us know that Jesus encourages his followers to visit the imprisoned (check out Matthew 25); however, did you know that the PC(U.S.A.)'s Book of Order does, too?! 

"God send the church in the powr of the Holy Spirit to exercise compassion to the world,
a.  feeding the hungry
b.  comforting the grieving
c.  caring for the sick
d.  visiting the prisoners
e.  freeing the captives
f.  sheltering the homeless
g.  befriending the lonely"

W-7.3000 

I am by no means saying the the BOO has more authority than Scripture, but as Presbyterian Christians we have Scripture and the tradition of the church encouraging us to live out our faith through specific activities.  Many churches are powerful advocates of the homeless, hungry, sick, grieving, and lonely...how many do the same thing for the prisoners and captives? 

Stan shared with us in class on Wednesday that the churches traditionally involved in prison ministry include Catholics, Evangelical Protestants, and Peace Churches (Mennonite and Quaker).  Several days later, in light of what I have read in the BOO, I am still puzzled as to why the PC(U.S.A.) denomination is not more involved in prison ministry.  To be honest, I can easily think of reasons as to why this is true, but I think they are rather petty and insignificant.  You know, visiting the imprisoned is not pretty or easy, but God is there...in EVERY prison.  And, where God is, that is where we are called to be as followers of Christ.  I pray that I will have the strength to live out all the components of compassion listed in the BOO in my life as one answering the call to serve. 

My last question...what do y'all think?   

Attempting to thoughtfully reflect

Last night I enjoyed fellowship and conversation with several good friends at a local establishment.  At one point I brought up my experience in the Cross and State class and my blog.  All of the friends present are followers of my blog and know some about the feelings this class and its readings have brought to the surface for me.  Before this class I never thought I would be passionate about the caceral system in the United States or even capital punishment.  I always heard of people who advocated for the rights of those imprisoned, but I never thought I would be one of those people.  I was always rather indifferent on these issues, however, I realize now that I am one of those people.  Will and I talk about this class, our readings, and our blogs almost everyday.  Our experiences thus far have greatly affected our hearts, souls, and minds.  I shared with my friends last night that I hope my sharing about my experiences never becomes overwhelming or annoying to them.  In all actuality, I know it probably will.  I am they type of person who shares my feelings about most things I experience in life, so why would I be any different with my experience with the Cross and State class?  When I become involved with something (the church, local volunteer opportunities, sports teams, causes) I become extremely passionate about it.  I don't just get involved with something on the periphery, I dive all the way in and I can sense that is what I am doing now.  I now read Scripture, Reformed Confessions, news stories, and even literature in a new light. 

The one problem with my newly aroused passion and awareness of the caceral system in the U.S. is that I find myself only focusing on those who were convicted of commiting crimes, not those who are the victims of these crimes. 

The state of Georgia currently has a little over 100 people on death row.  My home state of South Carolina currently has 56 people on death row, one of whom was sentenced to death in my home county (Anderson) on Thursday.  Here is the link to this story:
 http://www.andersonindependent.com/news/2010/feb/19/rivera-now-one-56-death-row-sc/

This story changes things a bit for me and challenges me and my faith in Jesus Christ.  This man, Raymondeze Rivera, killed two young mothers in my home county.  Before the jury went in to deliberate for 4 1/2 hours at the Anderson County Courthouse on Thursday, Mr. Rivera asked for the death penalty.  If I was on that jury, what would I have done?  I still don't agree with state-sponsored execution, but this man deserved to be punished and he asked for the death penalty.  While I feel a kinship with the two women who he murdered, what would I feel if the women he killed were my close friends or family members? 

In state of Georgia, one can be sentenced to death for three crimes:  murder, rape, kidnapping.  The thought of these crimes makes my stomach churn, particularly if they involve children.  What I am struggling with today is...where do I go from here?  My heart aches for the life of Melbert Ray Ford who is scheduled to be executed by the state of Georgia on Tuesday (2/23/10), but my heart burns with anger and compassion for the victims of Mr. Ford and Mr. Rivera.  As a follower of Christ, what do I do?  Do I live in this tension or choose a side?     

Heavy Stuff: A Response to Will's Blog

Greetings peeps! Will and I are attempting to use our blogs as a space not only to reflect on our own experiences, but to be in discussion with each other. What follows is my response to Will's latest entry from 2/16/10:  incarceratedgrace.blogspot.com

Just reading Will's entry from today caused my heart to beat rapidly and my stomach to churn while I tried to take slow, even breaths.  It takes me back to a conversation I had with my husband in the kitchen last week.  "Why in the world," said David, "do we kill someone in retribution for killing someone?"  "Instead of one life," he went on "we are taking two."

Earlier today, I was thinking about next Tuesday and hoping I could visit Jackson with Will.  Then, I realized that we won't be able to visit next Tuesday.  The whole place will be on lock-down because of the scheduled execution of Melbert Ray Ford.  I can't even force my brain to think about this reality for an extended period of time...it breaks my heart and causes me deep anguish. 

This week in theology we are discussing theories of atonement.  I personally like the theories that capitalize on Jesus' violent death on the cross.  Many theologians and some of my classmates don't like to "glorify" the violence of the cross and crucifixion, or as some theologians put it, "divine child abuse".  These theories (Christus Victor, Satisfaction) give me hope...hope that God in Jesus Christ has defeated the evil for violence once and for all and that one day we will no longer have to repay violence for violence.

I'm going to be sending up some prayers for Mr. Ford this week and I hope you will, too.  Pray that violence will end once and for all...pray for the hope and peace, and pray for all of those anguishing hearts out there weeping for the violence we perpetuate through our prison systems.      

Valentine's Day?

On this Lord's Day which also happens to be Valentine's Day, I would like to share some images with you from the National Geographic special, "Hard Time" featuring Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson, GA. Even though Valentine's Day is cheesy, on a day like today I am reminded that I am loved by my family and beloved as a Child of God. What do these images say about love and identity for the men at GA Diagnostic and Classification?

When we visited Jackson last week, I noticed that many of the prisoners had tattoos, like this man pictured above. After thinking about this (and other things related to our visit all week), I have come to the conclusion that if I was in prison, I would probably have and/or want tattoos also. Tattoos are really the only way to maintin any sense of identity in the prison system. Many people have names of their family members, connections to home, religious symbols, etc. tattooed on their bodies. One piece of my identity I would have a difficult time giving up in the prison system would be my wedding band. It reminds me of the love I share with my spouse and it is a symbol of my devotion to my marriage. If I was in the situation of many of these prisoners, I would desire to have a tattoo representing my marriage or love for my family, too. On a similar note, in my house we have a sign above the front door that says, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." (Joshua 24: 15) This sign reminds me of my devotion to the Lord and serves as a proclamation of my faith. If I was imprisoned, I would not be able to have a sign like this in my cell. Therefore, I would probably desire some way to symbolize my devotion to faith in God.

We met the guard "welcoming" these prisoners to Jackson when we visited last week.  He was a friendly man and discussed with us the realities of his job, welcoming approximately 100 new prisoners to Jackson each day.  For many of these men, said the guard, this moment is a moment of realization.  No longer is there hope that prison won't come...prison is a reality.  At this point, these men have already received their sentences.  This picture makes me think of how we welcome people of all backgrounds to the church.  These men being "welcomed" to Jackson are considered by most to be criminals, animals, the scum of society...sinners.  Do we welcome sinners of all backgrounds to the church in love?  Aren't we all equally sinners in the eyes of God?  If God can love me, sinner that I am, God can love these men, too. 

The first time I am able to look an inmate from Jackson in the eye is in a photograph.  Is not this the face of a child of God, a child whom God loves?  Shouldn't we follow in God's footsteps and look all of God's children in the eye with love in our hearts? 

I wonder as I look at this picture, how can love be present in a cold place like this?  Believe me, when you enter this place, you feel like the love is sucked out. 

Regardless of my feelings, I have hope and confidence that our God can get through the barbed wire and love even in the cold environment of a prison.

Afterall...

“The world takes us to a silver screen where flickering images of passion and romance play, and as we watch, the world says, ‘This is love.’ God takes us to the foot of a tree on which a naked and bloodied man hangs, and says, ‘This is love.’” ~Max Lucado


*Images taken from http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/hard-time/all/Photos#tab-Photos/0

 

Check out Will's lastest entry: http:/incarceratedgrace.blogspot.com

In the words of Johnny Cash, "Yeah, I'm goin' to Jackson"

This afternoon our class took a trip down to Jackson, GA to visit the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison.
Some facts about this prison:
1. This is where all male persons sentenced to serve time in prison for a felony go in the state of Georgia before they are classified and sent to the location where they will serve their sentence.
2. This is where all death row inmates in Georgia are located and this is where all executions take place in the state of Georgia. There are currently over 100 men on death row in Georgia and one woman.
3. Last year, over 14,000 men came through this prison.
4. Today, 2/10/10, 109 men came into this prison.
5. There is one full-time chaplain for around 2,000 prisoners.

Now, onto my reflections...
For those who know me, they know not many things strike me silent. Well, today did. Entering the prison was very surreal and very solemn for me. To walk down long hallways escorted by guards while prisoners immediately stopped their tasks to turned to face the wall was surrreal. To look in a cell while 100 men stood absolutely still beside us, listening to us ask questions about them was surreal. To be walk beside the gurney where executions occur was surreal. To be in the cell where, in a little less than two weeks, Melbert Ray Ford is scheduled to be executed was anguish-producing. Why, oh why, is our country intent on avenging death with more death? After leaving the execution room, all of us walked back in silence...In fact, I don't even know what to say now. Or, maybe, its that I don't want to say anything. Maybe I was struck silent in order to honor the sacred reverence of the place we visited today. Even as I am writing this, I wonder why I have chosen the words sacred and reverent to describe this prison. For some reason, it was a very sacred place for me...a place where God most definitely is present. At the end of our visit, Chaplain Harrell, shared that he knows God is present in that place. I knew this even before he said it, because I felt God's presence the whole time we were there. I wonder...do other people know this...do they know that God is present in the prisons? Do the prisoners know this? Do the judges and juries who sentence humans to time in prison know this? Do people who are scared of prisons and the people inside them know this? Does the church know this?

I'll probably have some more reflections tomorrow, but this is all I can manage tonight as I call out to God in anguish for our brothers and sisters in the U.S. prison system.

Wednesdays of Anguish?

So...what's with the title of my blog? At least, this is the question I am anticipating being asked. Well, to answer this question I imagine people will ask: I decided to start a blog reflecting on my experiences in a class at Columbia Theological Seminary, The Cross and the State. This class meets on Wednesdays from 1:30-4:30 and examines the dimensions of the U.S. carceral state and possible alternatives to the current carceral state while reflecting biblically and theologically on the ways Christians and the church might faithfully engage with prisoners, their families, and their communities. The reason I call it "Wednesdays of Anguish" is simply because the prison system in the U.S. causes me great anguish. I understand and agree that something needs to be done about law-breaking and violent crime, but the realities of long-term imprisonment and the death penalty break my heart, and I think they break God's, too.



Two things are on my mind today as I am reflecting upon where this class will lead me:

1. This story on CNN.com about a boy named Jordan
http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/02/10/pennsylvania.young.murder.defendant/index.html

2. Luke 4: 16-20
"When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.' And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all the synagogue were fixed on him."

Also, my friend Will and others may be responding to my posts on this blog and we embark on a journey of theological dialogue about our experiences in the Cross and the State this semester.