Monday, October 28, 2013
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Monday, April 15, 2013
25,000 volunteers in Texas prisons who are allowed to go into the units of the prison system and bring a faith-based message
"150,000 people are doing time in the prison units of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Most of them will one day return to our communities. It is our prayer and our hope that they will return as good neighbors who will live responsibly near us or near others like us. The thing that can make that happen most powerfully and most certainly is the Gospel. Those who bring the Gospel into our prisons have seen the transforming power of that Gospel at work, bringing forgiveness for the penitent and grace for new life.
In Texas there are approximately 25,000 volunteers who are allowed to go into the units of the
prison system and bring a faith-based message. Most of these volunteers are lay people, not pastors. They represent many faith groups. The number of people who serve as volunteers who are members of our LC-MS congregations is extremely small. The opportunity for us to bring a desperately-needed message is extremely great. Volunteers serve as Bible study leaders, as prayer warriors, as mentors, and in various other ways.
For most of us, the prospect of going behind prison walls to serve as a volunteer is a frightening prospect. But those of us who have done it, while we are aware that there are risks, have seen the fruit of our labors and are confident that the relatively small risk is worth it.
A group of people with prison ministry experience has gotten together and planned a meeting that we hope many of you will attend. We will tell you about prison ministry. We will invite you to become involved. However, we do not expect you to come with a prior commitment to be involved. We’d like you to come just to learn more about what our Lord is doing behind prison walls, how lives are being transformed, how opportunities abound, and how great a joy it is to see what the promise of new life in Christ can mean to one whose life has been full of despair.
The meeting will be at Hope Lutheran Church, Friendswood, on April 20. Please pray about this invitation to attend. You may register to attend by filling out the attached form."
Contributed by: Chaplain Don Kaspar
Chaplain Don Kaspar has
served as a teacher (Alabama Lutheran Academy and College, now Concordia,
Selma), as a parish pastor, and as a chaplain and Director of the Chaplaincy
Department of the TDCJ.
He
is currently retired and living in Huntsville. Because an understanding
of prison culture is essential to those who work as chaplaincy volunteers in
prison, his topic in this conference is “What Life Is Like in Prison.” He is
also the author of On Duty: Purpose and
Practice in Christian Correctional Chaplaincy.
Rev. John Fale to Keynote Clergy Track at April 20th Prison Ministry Conference in Houston, Texas
The Rev. John A. Fale has served as a parish pastor, director of pastoral care services in health care, and as a congre- gation-based pastoral counselor. He currently serves as the associate executive director of Mercy Operations for The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and is the endorser for the specialized pastoral ministries of chaplaincy, pastoral counseling and clinical education.
Fale holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and a master’s in divinity from Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne. Fale is a board certified chaplain in the Association of Profes- sional Chaplains and a Fellow in the American Association of Pastoral Counselors.
Fale previously served as associate executive director for LCMS World Relief and Human Care and served on a num- ber of disaster response assessment and follow-up teams, including the 2011 flooding in Minot, N.D.
Fale will deliver keynote address, providing context and insight for getting involved, staying involved, and why it is critical more than ever to be involved in getting seminaries into prisons. Prison/Jail Ministry falls within the scope of Mercy Operations at LCMS.
The Rev. John A. Fale has served as a parish pastor, director of pastoral care services in health care, and as a congre- gation-based pastoral counselor. He currently serves as the associate executive director of Mercy Operations for The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and is the endorser for the specialized pastoral ministries of chaplaincy, pastoral counseling and clinical education.
Fale holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and a master’s in divinity from Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne. Fale is a board certified chaplain in the Association of Profes- sional Chaplains and a Fellow in the American Association of Pastoral Counselors.
Fale previously served as associate executive director for LCMS World Relief and Human Care and served on a num- ber of disaster response assessment and follow-up teams, including the 2011 flooding in Minot, N.D.
Fale will deliver keynote address, providing context and insight for getting involved, staying involved, and why it is critical more than ever to be involved in getting seminaries into prisons. Prison/Jail Ministry falls within the scope of Mercy Operations at LCMS.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPR_fRrMPzk
Grove Norwood, Founder and Executive Director of Heart of Texas Foundation, will speak at the Prison Jail Ministry Conference at Hope Lutheran, Friendswood, Texas on Saturday, April 20, 2013...
Norwood will be Keynote Speaker for the Lay Track portion of this event....
Mr. Norwood will share how his family's personal tragedy transformed not only their lives but unwittingly led to the installation of the first prison seminary in Texas in Rosharon. TO date, Darrington has graduated nearly 80 inmates. Most recently, Texas Governor Rick Perry visited with prison students and offered his encouragement and endorsement. (The seminary is sponsored by The HEart of TExas Foundation with the vital assistance and support of The Texas Department of Criminal Justice, and is an official campus of The Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Please join us.
To register online: http://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?EventID=1211941
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)