Monday, May 19, 2008

"I was in prison. . ."

". . .and you visited me."

This quote (Matthew 25:36c), from the Lord Jesus' parable of the judgment (of the sheep and goats), is the inspiration for those of us who volunteer in Kairos Prison Ministry. Yesterday afternoon I participated in a Kairos event at the Torres (prison) Unit near Hondo. And as you know from my previous posting, I participated in another Kairos event Thursday evening in the Briscoe Unit near Dilley.

The event to which I refer was the Closing ceremony for Kairos Weekend #19 at Torres. (As you can see, Kairos has been ministering in Torres a few years longer than in Briscoe.) To attend one of these, you need permission from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), which is gained thru an application for clearance. I filled out one just in time (at the deadline), then received my clearance letter. Then at the Northwest San Antonio Emmaus meeting Friday night I obtained a ride to Closing. This ride was with a couple with whom I've done Kairos service; they picked me up at Mexican Christian Church right after Sunday worship concluded. We drove west to Hondo, and had Sunday dinner at Hermann Sons, a very popular Hondo restaurant with Kairos volunteers who are involved in Torres.

Now, it had been quite a while since I last entered Torres for Kairos. In the meantime I'd been in the Briscoe Unit countless times. therefore, I was having some sense of disconnect. You see, the two prisons have identical layouts, but with different details in places. For instance, in the administration building at Briscoe, there is a portrait of Gov. Dolph Briscoe on the wall to the right as you enter. There's no portrait on the wall in the same building at Torres. Instead, further in on the right is a framed front page of The Devine News, of when Torres was opened. I lived in Devine when Torres opened, but even tho' I cannot remember the article about the prison, I do remember the photo of the buck and two hunters who bagged it that was beside it!

Then, when we entered the gym, I noticed, first, a couple of inmates of the Torres Kairos community whom I remembered, and second, that the arrangement of seating was flip-flopped. The only seats remaining the same were those of the Outside and Inside Teams. The Candidates' seats were facing toward the door AND the outsider visitors, instead of the other way around (us facing the Candidates and the door). The inmates, including their music team, was at the back of the gym.

The Candidates entered, did their intros by Table Families, and got to do "open mike" expression of whatever was on each one's heart about the weekend retreat. I quickly forgot any disconnect, any seating rearrangement, and even Briscoe. I was lost in remembrance -- vivid remembrance -- of my attendance at Closing for Kairos Torres #8! It was that Closing and my profound impression of it, that "hooked" me on doing volunteer service in Kairos Prison Ministry!

The Candidates' testimonies were just as impressive this time around. Even more impacting was the "Fourth Day Talk", spoken by an inmate whose initial Weekend was just a year ago. His was a terrific exhortation, not only to the new guys but to the veteran Kairos community gathered at the back of the gym. And then Chaplain Yates gave his brief Talk. More exhortation. I tell you what: if one of these 42 guys didn't ""get it" about the necessity of perseverance he had to be deaf!

Following all these elements of a standard Closing for a Kairos Weekend, we outside visitors got escorted back to the sally port. Then came the Team, the Outside ladies first. We all circled up in the parking lot just outside the sally port, as usual. But before we launched into singing "surely the Presence (of the Lord Is in This Place), I asked for a moment to lead us in prayer for the Candidates and the Kairos community of Torres.

And then we all hit the road for home, leaving our new Brothers in White, along with the older Brothers of the Kairos in Torres, in the gracious, powerful hands of ABBA, our God and Daddy.

No comments: