Praying for Our Prisons

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62449385915649271172011-10-02T06:25:45.352-07:00Praying for Our PrisonsA Call to Prayer. A Call to Pray for OUR Prisons. Our prison system (speaking as Californian in the United states of America)needs all the help it can get to transform itself into an institution focused on bring healing, safety and peace to our prisons, to our communities, to our future generations. Let us together apply the force behind all life, let us pray.Judy Trethewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06130527477728085759noreply@blogger.comBlogger291100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244938591564927117.post-40920908903530535152011-05-07T22:01:00.000-07:002011-05-07T22:01:22.707-07:00common root of evil

In Joanna Hoyt's blog, Living as if the Truth was true, I read this and have been sniffing it carefully, wondering if it was for real. ... weighing the evil I do against that done by someone else is basically meaningless, because we are not separate. Just as our courage, love, integrity are not ours alone, are from God, flow between us in ways seen and unseen, so also our cowardice, our hate

Judy Trethewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06130527477728085759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244938591564927117.post-76521450019698782572011-03-02T19:28:00.000-08:002011-03-02T19:28:23.201-08:00What is Something You Have Done, Recently, For Someone Else?

What is Something You Have Done, Recently, For Someone Else? Close your eyes and say to yourself, "state prison." Your mind likely fills with images, colors, sounds, emotions - all harsh - and most of them are probably accurate. But there is more to find in prison. There is humanity. IPP Volunteer Becky LoDolce writes about her experiences inside San Quentin State Prison in this month's

Judy Trethewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06130527477728085759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244938591564927117.post-48224467656880466632011-02-13T21:45:00.000-08:002011-02-13T21:45:11.094-08:00Laying on of hands

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Judy Trethewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06130527477728085759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244938591564927117.post-81672766242848429382011-02-09T21:33:00.000-08:002011-02-09T21:42:02.583-08:00“What kind of place would this prison be, if it was governed by compassion?”

Judy Trethewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06130527477728085759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244938591564927117.post-65943105452903859272011-01-18T20:59:00.000-08:002011-01-18T20:59:39.574-08:00Juvenile Justice

This Blog Talk Radio interview by Herb Blake is with Fr. Michael Kennedy is a Jesuit Priest who dedicates his life to seeking Social Justice for juvenile offenders and at-risk youth. In addition to his political activism, his spiritual ministry takes him inside juvenile halls, jails and prison as he works to ignite a spirit of hope in the hearts and minds of young men and women. Seth Weiner

Judy Trethewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06130527477728085759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244938591564927117.post-80165612467137874302011-01-18T20:56:00.000-08:002011-01-18T20:56:03.167-08:00Insiders at New Folsom tell their transformation story

This site is full of my students, explore it!Prisoners for Peace WebsiteHigher Consciousness Movement within the prison walls and beyond. We, the Prisoners for Peace at New Folsom Prison, Sacramento believe and want the following: 1. WE BELIEVE THAT PEACE CAN COME THROUGH THE CULTIVATION OF ONE'S OWN CONSCIOUS. 2. WE BELIEVE LIVING IN

Judy Trethewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06130527477728085759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244938591564927117.post-37829600238526186152011-01-04T09:52:00.000-08:002011-01-04T09:52:12.896-08:00Whats this about?

Several times while traveling recently I have had the opportunity to share this deep concern of my heart, this Calling. And from inside me the words stumbled, while the spirit of the words made it through and we have several more champions rallied to this cause, it was made clear to me that I need to work on my "elevator speech". Here is what came this morning as I am anticipating taking the

Judy Trethewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06130527477728085759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244938591564927117.post-75829425169437657742010-12-22T20:00:00.000-08:002010-12-22T20:00:57.425-08:00our longest stride

Diane Pendola has put out another wonderful reflection in her season essay called Earthlines: Can we destroy evil by destroying a person who incarnates evil? Or are we all diminished by this choice, sinking us as a community towards the evil we seek to eliminate? Jesus said, "Those whose sins you forgive are forgiven. Those whose sins you retain are retained." I wonder, if by championing the

Judy Trethewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06130527477728085759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244938591564927117.post-78215349516091013352010-12-20T15:53:00.000-08:002010-12-20T15:56:28.005-08:00Death Row Prayer Cards

Today I discovered this story on the Death Penalty Focus website that told of Ray McKeon's creation of the prayer cards for Death Row inmates in 2002. Having one of these prayer cards on my dash board for a year or so was a powerful experience as I would pray for the Death Row inmate, his family, the victim and their family. It was me that was transformed. Prayer by prayer I opened to the

Judy Trethewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06130527477728085759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244938591564927117.post-55403319017562699542010-12-08T21:33:00.000-08:002010-12-08T21:33:59.553-08:00Work of unimaginable significance

Today I was at a local Restorative Justice Meeting and had a deep inquiry conversation with my co-author of the phamphlet and then this opens up in fromt of me in my inbox.... four steps forward today! There's Nothing "Magical" about Societal Healing by James O'Dea "Yet we know that our collective wounds can be addressed and that societies can make progress in healing the most virulent wounds of

Judy Trethewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06130527477728085759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244938591564927117.post-63679804786961357222010-12-03T22:05:00.000-08:002010-12-04T09:50:34.651-08:00Spontaneous Evolution

Last night I saw Swami Beyondananda and purchased the book, Spontaneous Evolution his alter ego Steve Bhaerman wrote with Bruce Lipton. It looks like an excellent chance to dialogue on the evolution of the prison system. Even if this is a conversation solely between the book and myself, I feel good about it being in the common. In the introduction they lift up the biological example of a

Judy Trethewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06130527477728085759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244938591564927117.post-54484141655829810672010-11-28T12:35:00.000-08:002010-11-28T12:35:28.855-08:00Clues inside a community of fellow seekers

Everywhere I read these days, I see clues to the overarching question that runs through my veins.... How does energy collect and harmonize around the purpose of transformation of our prison system (indeed criminal justice system) into a system dedicated to healing, a system that is live giving, that releases the creative potential of all the individuals involved and our society ... I want to

Judy Trethewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06130527477728085759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244938591564927117.post-53500740901510719862010-11-04T19:21:00.001-07:002010-11-04T19:21:34.952-07:00Evin in his sin...

Love a man, even in his sin, for that love is a likeness of the divine love, and is the summit of love on earth -Dostoevsky

Judy Trethewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06130527477728085759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244938591564927117.post-14714414930021664802010-08-24T15:38:00.000-07:002010-08-24T15:38:56.226-07:00Daniel Beatty - 'Knock Knock' (Def Jam Poetry)

Judy Trethewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06130527477728085759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244938591564927117.post-38421009202263786682010-07-22T22:45:00.000-07:002010-07-22T22:53:53.320-07:00Prisoners for Peace

Prisoners for Peace Here are some of the men that share the Spiritual Insight Meditation group with me inside New Folsom Prison. They have taken the praying for the prisons message on and worked it in their own spirit, congratulations! I got their photos off their web site, go visit and enjoy their stories... Please add your prayers to theirs! Prisoners for Peace

Judy Trethewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06130527477728085759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244938591564927117.post-926362573364786472010-07-02T17:37:00.001-07:002010-07-02T17:42:17.161-07:00Powerful Photographs of Prisoners

From NPR: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128212442&sc=emaf This murder victim turned to the power of her camera to open her heart and our hearts to the humanity inside the walls of our prisons. Images like these make praying easy.

Judy Trethewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06130527477728085759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244938591564927117.post-63518463438611859182010-06-09T15:24:00.000-07:002010-06-09T15:33:24.617-07:00Healing stories in womans prison

A powerful blog essay from Diane Pendola, Summer, 2010 came today and I really recommend reading the whole piece, here are a few snippets: Granted, these women are not doing these kinds of sentences because they are saints, but that is precisely why we should be teaching sainthood! Reality is cosmotheandric, interconnected. Do we want evil and sadness and brokenness to continue to

Judy Trethewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06130527477728085759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244938591564927117.post-38539764225712402062010-04-12T19:34:00.000-07:002010-04-12T19:45:15.324-07:00Tears of Gentle Love

May I not increase the ignorance of wrongdoers by my intolerance or vindictiveness. Inspire me to help them by my forgiveness, prayers, and tears of gentle love. Paramahansa Yogananda, "Whispers from Eternity" Seek to do brave and lovely things that are left undone by the majority of people. Give gifts of love and peace to those whom others pass by. Paramahansa Yoganda, SRF Lessons

Judy Trethewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06130527477728085759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244938591564927117.post-34981526655160867052010-04-01T20:49:00.000-07:002010-04-01T20:50:29.876-07:00Prophets needed

A good book I'm reading, God and the Evolving Universe, speaks of prophets as spiritual antennae, taking their nation to task for its failings, measuring its realities against sacred ideals and offering moral critique to the highest of worldly powers (p39). Prophets are an essential element of a just society. Who today is calling the world to recognize that "every human being, simply by virtue

Judy Trethewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06130527477728085759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244938591564927117.post-83927254664607659592010-03-31T19:57:00.000-07:002010-03-31T19:59:14.720-07:00Bishop 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

Judy Trethewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06130527477728085759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244938591564927117.post-68833264603742287312010-03-29T16:01:00.000-07:002010-03-29T16:01:45.808-07:00Free

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

Judy Trethewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06130527477728085759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244938591564927117.post-90357396405845389682010-03-18T13:59:00.000-07:002010-03-18T14:07:44.596-07:00Chicken 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

Judy Trethewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06130527477728085759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244938591564927117.post-12977937647857824022010-03-02T16:22:00.000-08:002010-03-02T16:24:35.791-08:00

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,

Judy Trethewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06130527477728085759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244938591564927117.post-48149660538871054262009-12-05T16:50:00.000-08:002009-12-05T16:50:10.005-08:00Inside Out

The men inside the prisons I visit are overflowing with enthusiasm for this project and have taken on their own efforts. At CSP-SAC the chapel falls silent every Tuesday about 7:30 and the groups gathered open their hearts to receive our prayers very purposefully. Those that participate speak about the glow that descends upon them. At Old Folsom individual men are gathering their peers from all

Judy Trethewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06130527477728085759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244938591564927117.post-64290766816359210472009-11-21T11:52:00.000-08:002009-11-21T11:55:08.857-08:00Magnitude

Today I’ve been exploring on the internet, searching for a web site model that would work well for Praying for Our Prisons campaign. I was drawn to the Knowing Field, a site about the work of Constellations, especially the work of Constellations in Prison settings (posted links on the Prison Potential blog) The enormity of this campaign sends shutters through me at times, shutters of divine

Judy Trethewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06130527477728085759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244938591564927117.post-31300684976711470912009-11-19T10:40:00.000-08:002009-11-19T10:40:25.042-08:00The power of joining together

There is a power in joining one personal prayer with another, and another and another... there is a power activated when hearts unite that amplyfies each hearts desire many times... to transform an institution full of the forms of concrete, bars, lock ups, isolation ... we choose to turn to the power of communion, people joining together and amplifying the power of love. "Pollution and

Judy Trethewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06130527477728085759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244938591564927117.post-77973749758220119852009-10-14T12:14:00.000-07:002009-10-14T13:16:06.748-07:00Why we have been called to prayer

We believe that fundamental to the transformation of our criminal justice system, and specifically our prison system, is the transformation of our society's collective heart when it comes to caring for those who transgress against us. Our collective approach to punishment has magnified criminal activities and behavior. Vengeance brings short term relief, not healing. We are our society. Each

Judy Trethewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06130527477728085759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244938591564927117.post-32254607014738073672009-10-14T11:38:00.000-07:002009-10-14T11:48:04.381-07:00Expanded Prayer

May our Prisonsto become places of healing and peace."Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering."Hebrews 13:3 NIVHow many times have you heard of some terrible crime and prayed a prayer for the bad guy to get all the punishment he could, "Rot in hell," you cursed, or thinking of our current prison system, "

Judy Trethewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06130527477728085759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244938591564927117.post-9556116967008026542009-08-11T12:39:00.000-07:002009-08-11T12:47:49.629-07:00The Light is out from under the bushel

This divinely guided project is flowing out of the spring of inspiration and down the hillside into action. Until a full on website is gifted is some way we will use this simple blog to help make the connections alive in the present moment on the internet stretching across time and space. May the Holy Spirit guide our inspiration, our actions and our results. May all peoples, of all faiths,

Judy Trethewayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06130527477728085759noreply@blogger.com0