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By Tom English Returning to Eugene
from military service, he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress
syndrome, but before he could get treatment he got into trouble with the
law. We met weekly in the Rite of Reconciliation of a Penitent for six
weeks. Each session ended with the declaration of forgiveness, each time
my friend wept, each time the Holy Spirit renewed us to continue so that
healing could begin. This was not just
about another tragic life, but every tragic life: Jesus walked through the
locked doors of our small room at the Lane County Jail. He breathed on us
and we were alight with the Spirit. Two months ago my
friend was sent off to the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility. At St.
Mary's Episcopal Church, we continue to include him in our Prayers of the
People. Recently I received
a letter from this young man: Dear Deacon Tom, I sure do miss
seeing you every week. Many times when we were talking I was convinced
that you would stop coming to see me. Each time I left the room, I
thought, "He won't be back." But every time you came back again;
you defeated my defenses and each time it was harder to put them back up
... There is still a
lot of rebuilding to be done, but because you cared and you shared the
Holy Spirit in you with me, the hardest part is behind. You showed me the
Lord's love and gave me an ample helping of your own. You showed me what
the Lord meant by unconditional, and I will always be grateful. You
believed in me and that will forever stay with me. My friend rightly
credits the Lord for his reconnection to God, but it was St. Mary's
Jail/Prison Ministry and the Diocesan Prison Ministry Commission that
provided the opportunity for him to hear that "still small
voice." There is the same Christ in all inmates. Through this
contact, the Holy Spirit has rekindled my own spirit for a ministry in a
place that too often succumbs to the gray specter that haunts our criminal
justice system. Deep down many feel what some openly say, "that
nothing works." Jesus tells us,
"If you forgive someone's sins, they're gone for good. If you don't
forgive sins, what are you going to do with them?" Indeed, what are we
going to do with the 600,000 prisoners who leave our jails and prisons
each month? We need to help offenders develop the knowledge, experience
and courage to rejoin their neighbors. The hurdle remains, however, that
when they do come home, we all too often refuse to forgive them. My friend and I were
able to share Eucharist the day before he left our jail. I encouraged him
not to let the label "felon" define him, but to move forward
with courage into that challenging picture of whom I trust our Lord is
calling him to be. Tom English is an
ordained deacon at St. Mary's Episcopal Church and a volunteer chaplain at
the Lane County Jail. This column is coordinated by Two Rivers Interfaith
Ministries, a network of more than 35 spiritual traditions in the
Eugene-Springfield area. For more information, call 344-5693 or visit
www.interfaitheugene.org. |