Ninety-eight incarcerated individuals are enrolled in our TUMI (The Urban Ministry Institute) Topeka discipleship and seminary classes. 89 of these are women. I lead a team of women who serve these students a collective time of 18 hours every week. Each encounter is a highlight in our lives and ministries.
Recently, I dismissed my county jail class 15 minutes early because one of our students came in directly from an attorney visit and spent the entire class time weeping quietly in the corner of the room. I sat with him and listened as he realized that the life he’d had was gone. He will almost certainly spend most of the rest of his life in prison. The last words spoken to him by a loved one were, “I hope you burn in hell.” He was only a step of grace away from hopelessness and despair.
By God’s grace, he is able to affirm a different future. Several months ago, he accepted Christ in the first Bible study he attended in jail. He kept attending every study he could, and now he is in his first seminary class. He is learning about God in a setting where his fellow students are facing similar futures, one having received two life sentences. Working in this setting means being able to be a holding place for people’s pain. It means walking with them, in a small way, through the consequences of old seeds planted, and cheerleading the work of the Holy Spirit in helping them plant new seeds. It means watching the hard, cracked, parched lives of brokenness be soaked in the water of Life and seeing entire housing areas lift up their heads in hope. It means helping them learn to think and talk about God and find their place in His Story.
In our women’s prison, we enter into the Church Inside as though walking on holy ground. We are always amazed at the faith of female prisoners. We believe the heart of our cities is lost if they don’t pick up the torch of female spirituality and embrace God’s mission in the City. We are clear with them: “We aren’t here because you need us. We’re here because the Church desperately needs you.”
My life and faith and ministry are forever impacted by these courageous men and women. When my own ministry overwhelms, I know that I will gain clarity and new vision and strength. Every woman on my Team would say the same.
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This year we are joining CCDA's efforts to create the space needed to listen to stories of people in our communities who are directly impacted, to learn about the greater impact of mass incarceration, to pray, and to engage public sector officials who have the power and position to impact change. Check out their resources here.
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