Bishop Quinn's Grace

                                                                    At the Capitol Awards Banquet on March 26, 2010 at joint celebration of Death Penalty Focus and Friends Committee on Legislation (CA), Bishop Francis A Quinn gave this beautiful invocation:

Loving God:  We ask you to bless our honorees this evening: Christine Thomas, Sister Catherine Connell, SSS and Pat Hardy.

 We believe that through evolution you have brought into existence the highest form of creation----the human being.

 Lately, we have begun to treasure and protect our environment---all nature surrounding us.

 But we confess that, in anger and in fear, in law enforcement and in war, in the name of public safety we still destroy the pinnacle of your creation---humans made in your image and likeness.

 With minds that comprehend quantum physics, black holes and parallel universes, in detention policy we have not yet found the way or the will to rehabilitate rather than kill.

 Gentle God, give us the wisdom to understand the authentic reasons and causes of criminal behavior, and the courage to join other developed nations of the world in employing more enlightened methods of dealing with crime.

 In the Quaker tradition, we will now have a moment of silence……….

 Lord, we ask your blessing on all those gathered here who are working toward the abolition of the death penalty.  Amen.

Free

Tonight's Passover, a holiday of freedom. This came from the California Corrections crisis blog a powerful blog to follow when interested in prison reform...

FREE
This Spring and onward, may we all be free to sit on city sidewalks without being cited or arrested.
May we be free to choose a rewarding, enriching life path, without poverty constraints.

May we be free from victimization and domestic violence.

May we be free from draconian legislation, excessive mandatory minimums, and the Three Strikes Law.
May we be free to provide for our families and to live with dignity, honor and good health.
May those of us who work in the law enforcement system be free to connect with our community and help it without animosity and danger.
May the prosecutors among us be free to do our jobs exercising discretion and compassion, released from constraining legislation and a punitive organizational culture.
May the defense attorneys among us be free to provide our clients with the best representation, released from budgetary constraints.
May those of us who work in corrections be free to do a correctional job that respects our safety and the human dignity of the people entrusted to our care.
May those of us within walls be free from prison rape and abuse.
May those of us within walls be free from boredom, narcotics, the endless chatter on TV.
May we be free to choose education, vocational programs, and avenues of life within walls that will help us rebuild bridges with our loved ones outside upon our release.
May those of us in juvenile care be free to choose a bright future.
May those of us who work in parole be free to furnish our parolees with hope and possibility, rather than oppression and supervision.
May those of us on early releases be free to rebuild our lives.
May those of us who have just been released from prison be free to find a home and a job without discrimination.
May all of us, as a society, be free from prejudices, biases, and irrational fears of the "other".

Chicken Soup for the Prisoner's Soul now available to the Public

Tom Laguna's books are a powerful source of inspiration for the creative potential alive inside our prison system.  He taps in so well with his strong story-telling background.  I met him years ago at a New Directions in Corrections conference, and am so inspired by how far he has taken his vision, and the contribution he has made to offering an alternative way of perceiving our prisons and human transformation.
Previously available only through free distribution to prisons, this life-changing book is the result of charitable donations from sales of Chicken Soup for the Christian Family Soul and gifts from thousands of individuals.
In the spring of 2000, over 100,000 copies of Chicken Soup for the Prisoner's Soul were distributed to prisoners, prison libraries and prison ministries throughout the United States. The hope was that this collection of stories would touch the hearts of prisoners and offer them hope and encouragement, as well as inspire them to transcend the limiting thinking and behaviors of their past.
The book was so successful that the co-authors soon found themselves flooded with requests for the book from family members, correctional officers, prison volunteers and others. Because of this huge demand, the decision was made to also release the book to the general public.

Also by Tom Laguna:
Serving Productive Time: Stories, Poems, and Tips to Inspire Positive Change from Inmates, Prison Staff, and Volunteers 

Serving Time, Serving Others: Acts of Kindness by Inmates, Prison Staff, Victims and Volunteers

I have been having a email conversation with a man of strong faith and a former correctional officer who has great concerns about the evils being committed within the prison system. When he asked more about my own faith, I realized that perhaps I should post my response. Where I as the holder of this blog container for this Call to Prayer come from, might serve in some small way:
I am a Quaker, the nickname for the Religious Society of Friends, a Protestant denomination. We Quakers have a long history of prison reform and advocacy work. Our tradition's journey began because we were so often locked up as we rebelled against the Church of England in the 1600's declaring that the Light of God was available for all, in all, and no one class of people (priests for example) had an exclusive on communion with Jesus or the teachings of the Bible. 
In this time, our lobbyists at the CA and Federal levels are long-standing and earnest proponents of prison reform, well respected for their faith based advocacy (See FCL Friends Committee on Legislation and FCNL Friends Committee on National Legislation).
When I speak out about prisons and prayer, I seek to speak in a voice that people of all traditions can hear and sense how to apply the practices of their particular way of viewing the Holy, so we can act in consort, even as our prayers take on different language and forms.
So far I have not yet found a way to speak about the evil. My heart and jaw clench to the strangle hold that evil has (appears to have) on this most spiritually vulnerable* part of our human brotherhood. Evil on so many levels -- the evil of our society's abandonment and rejection of those who need healing most, the evil of the crimes, the evil of manipulation of the victims, the evil of stripping any healthy sense of purpose from those incarcerated, the evil of gaining from another's suffering, and on and on -- 
Still in my prayers, Christ guides me to seek the Light, to know that these are not his ways, to focus on increasing the Light through out the system and especially in societies turning away from seeing of the evil and perpetuating the story that only takes us collectively further towards "hell on earth".
When I am in a state of prayer, I feel so blessed and confident in this Call. Then I have times when I feel I am taking the "feel good" way, and avoiding the real need "to speak truth (of the evil) to power". I trust I will be taught, perhaps through conversations such as these, in a voice filled with Love.
May the blind see. May we not turn our heads any longer. May the Light of Christ flow through our hearts and voices. May the energy of evil in all times, places, people, and systems dissolve into the ocean of God's love. May we each do our part to enable this cross we bear collectively to be the opportunity for our collective resurrection.
* vulnerable spiritually, as most crime arises from an estrangement from God, not "Loving Thy Neighbor", not honoring the divinity of all life, acting out of a God-less sense of self.  When we live our lives from this isolated sense of ourselves, we are most vulnerable to the forces of evil, both as correctional officers and inmates.