Prison volunteer opportunity answers call for retired priest This story of reconciliation speaks to the kinds of evangelism and reconciliation to which Bishop Knisely called Rhode Island Episcopalians at the 2016 Diocesan Convention. It’s the story of involvement by the Rev. Stephanie Shoemaker (pictured below at right, with the Rev. Dr. Joyce Penfield, who coordinates this ministry) with a volunteer ministry opportunity at the Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI) in Cranston.
Dear Bishop Knisely: Retirement can sometimes feel like a place of wilderness or exile. An email from a colleague inviting me to join the Amazing Grace volunteer ministry team at the ACI was a burning bush in my desert, a call to turn aside to see and to answer a call to a place in need. Having finished the requisite training and screening, I went to the prison to participate in my first service with Father William. That was in March 2016. Every Tuesday evening since, I have headed to the ACI minimum security chapel for a time of spiritual exploration and worship with the several inmates who come. Turnover is high in this inmate population, but those who come when they can have told us it is a safe place to talk, a sanctuary and valuable lifeline for them, a time for forgiveness of things past, acceptance of present realities and hope for their future life. In other words, these gatherings are times of Amazing Grace and reconciliation. This happens in a community “inside the walls.” Inside the bricks and mortar and grilles of the building, but also inside the walls erected within each prisoner to defend themselves against the hurt of damaging early wounds, inside the emotional barriers created by fear and anger and loss, and inside those hearts longing to have the courage to be open to trust and to be free for relationship. It occurs in worship and in the exchange of telling and hearing stories — each other’s and the biblical stories. Faith and compassion penetrate these walls and liberate the spirits held captive within. This is powerful for all of us who participate in any way in
Reconciliation to God
this congregation — giving and receiving, growing and changing, giving thanks and hoping for new life outside those walls. Reconciliation with a world that has dismissively set you aside, locked you up, removing the danger you represent and forgetting about you is difficult. It is not impossible, but its darkness requires openness to the light. The Rev. Joyce Penfield leads a 12-week class called “Houses of Healing,” which guides a group through steps to know themselves and to reconcile with themselves and their pasts. It is followed by another eight-week “Boundaries” class in which participants put those newly learned skills into practice — learning to create healthy boundaries with themselves and others. As Joyce has been training me to lead these classes, I have gained far more than any time I have given. Worship on Tuesdays and learning together on Fridays act together to do the work of reconciliation that broken lives cry out for. Several of the men have told me that telling their stories to one another and having them heard with care and respect has been one of the most powerful elements of all that we do with them. To bring the love of God into their struggles for healing is what Amazing Grace is all about. Thank you for your support of this program, Bishop. It really seems to be having a positive impact on those lives with which we can connect at the prison. It certainly has had a significant impact on mine. Faithfully, Stephanie Shoemaker
RISEN Magazine
9