In 1998, George (Leo) Diaz preached for his graduating class of a program sponsored by New York Theological Seminary. Mr. Diaz was an inmate incarcerated in Sing Sing Correctional Facility. His sermon on Ezekiel 37:1-14 began with this invitation:

There are vast numbers of valleys filled with dry bones in the world today, but for now let us turn our attention to the prisons where a whole multitude of brothers need that breath of life blown into them.

What has Jesus empowered you to do with regard to our neighbors impacted by incarceration? Thanks to misguided public policy, the United States has the highest percentage of incarcerated citizens in the world. So we have a lot of neighbors in this situation: those who are inside penal institutions, those who have been inside; friends, family, and victims of those who are or have been inside

There are so many angles and issues related to the criminal justice system it is hard to know where to start. It can be so overwhelming that you don’t want to start at all! For each angle, each issue, there is an opportunities–a way in which individuals and faith communities can get involved in addressing the realities of mass incarceration.

Too decide which direction to turn, I found a helpful categorization of these ways in a resource compiled by Betsey Heavner. Her “Congregational Toolbox for Prison Ministry” is available online from the General Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church. The Toolbox categorizes seven ways for churches to embrace our neighbors impacted by incarceration, from prevention to advocacy.

Download a PDF for a handout I created listing the seven categories, with suggested activities under each:
7-ways-to-engage_handout

Click here to visit the GBOD site and order the “Congregational Toolbox for Prison Ministry” PDF.