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From Paul Thomas:
Matthew 25:34-40 (NRSVue) “Then the King will say to the people on his right, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father! Come and possess the kingdom which has been prepared for you ever since the creation of the world. I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me a drink; I was a stranger and you received me in your homes, naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me, in prison and you visited me.’ The righteous will then answer him, ‘When, Lord, did we ever see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? When did we ever see you a stranger and welcome you in our homes, or naked and clothe you? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘I tell you, whenever you did this for one of the least important of these followers of mine, you did it for me!’” The passage above is quoted here because it helps us to understand what we learned and, more importantly, what we felt after finishing this Spring’s adult education class on Christianity and people in prisons and our prison system. One striking example of what the church is doing in this area was the visit we had from a Lutheran pastor whose congregation is located inside an actual prison. New Beginnings Worshipping Community! (NBWC) is a Lutheran mission church led by Rev. Samm Melton-Hill that holds regular in-person worship services inside the Denver Women's Correctional Facility. It is open to all who wish to join the community. Its mission is to restore shattered lives to wholeness through the love of Jesus Christ. Rev Samm came to CGS to talk to us about the NBWC, the prison ministry inside the Denver Women's Correctional Facility. We heard wonderful and inspiring stories about how this ministry impacts the lives of the prisoners both while incarcerated and after their release. We also learned the prisoners are supported not only by Pastor Samm’s ministry, but by the Highlands Lutheran Church in Denver where Pastor Samm also serves as part-time pastor. Nevertheless, there is always more that could be done to help this ministry and the people it serves. Once released from prison, don’t we want these people to lead useful and fulfilling lives? If the answer is “yes”, then do we have a responsibility to help inmates both while in prison and afterwards? At the end of our class this Spring, members asked themselves what we could do. We had also asked Reverend Samm during our session what we could do to help the NBWC ministry. Rev. Samm responded that direct donations to her congregation were one solution as, unlike congregations like CGS, Reverend Samm’s community has no money and cannot collect donations from its members. Another suggestion was donations in-kind. Greeting cards, for example, would be more than welcome. It is vitally important for prisoners to maintain relationships with their families on the outside, and sending birthday and other cards to family is one important way for them to do so. Unfortunately, cards available to the prisoners in the facility for purchase are terribly expensive and out of reach for most. So a donation of cards (with appropriate postage) would be a great help. Susan Duran kindly volunteered to coordinate the collecting and sending of cards to the prisoners. We also talked about what we might also be able to do locally -- whether there are any opportunities here. Ann Ponikvar did some research to look at what might be available in Santa Clara County. As it turns out, there are not a lot of correctional facilities in the county. Outside of the county jail, we have the Elmwood Correctional Facility in Milpitas. It includes facilities for both men and women. The women’s facility hosts approximately 250 inmates and is now home to a library just opened last December that is run by the Santa Clara County Library District. There might be opportunities for serving the inmates in Elmwood. If anyone at CGS would be interested in evaluating the possibilities, please let me know. If you are interested in (or considering) serving the prison population, whether in Denver or Milpitas or elsewhere, there are some resources to which you can avail yourself: Contact information for giving to the NBWC: Give | New Beginnings Worshipping Community Two documentaries of interest: The Quilters follows the daily lives of several quilters inside the sewing room at South Central Correctional Center, a Level 5 maximum-security prison in a small town two hours south of St. Louis, MO. From design to completion, the men reveal their struggles, triumphs, and sense of pride in creating something beautiful in this windowless, sacred space deep within the prison walls. Watch on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/82006530 Vice, How Private Prisons Protect their Profits, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuY0LQd9Jgw Reading You may also want to read the book we read for the class which is available in the CGS Library: Jeffrey Reiman and Paul Leighton, The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison, 13th ed., New York and London: Routledge, 2023. 364.973 Rei
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The titles below have been added to the CGS Library for your summer enjoyment and are now available to all. They may be found on the new book shelf (top shelf of the book truck) or are already on the shelves. We use a modified form of the Dewey Decimal classification system, and the books are arranged by that system. The numbers following each title (e.g. 277.3082 Alb) are the Dewey numbers you can use to locate the books on the shelves. If you have any questions (Where is the library?, What is a book truck?, How do I use the Dewey system?, etc.), your friendly librarian (that’s me) will be happy to help you.
Recent Additions to the CGS Library – Summer 2025 Le Guin, Ursula K. Hainish novels and stories. Edited by Brian Attebery. N.Y. : Library of America, 2017. 813.54 LeG v.1. Rocannon’s world, Planet of exile, City of illusions, The left hand of darkness, The dispossessed, Stories – v.2. The word for world is forest, Stories, Five ways to forgiveness, The telling. “The star-spanning story of humanity’s colonization of other planets, [these stories] redrew the map of modern science fiction”—Brian Attebery. Also found in Pastor Kris’ library. Le Guin, Ursala K. No time to spare : thinking about what matters. N.Y. : HarperPerennial, 2017. 813.54 N “Short, punchy, and canny meditations on aging, literature and cats…[Le Guin] offers her many fans a chance to share her clear-eyed experience of the everyday”—Publishers Weekly “Altogether fantastic …A magnificent read in its tessellated totality”—Brian Pickings Pavlovitz, John. If God is Love, don’t be a jerk : finding a faith that makes us better humans. Louisville, KY : Westminster John Knox Press, 2021. 234.23 Pav “A sobering yet inspiring discourse for open-minded, thoughtful readers” – Library Journal “[This book] calls us to create a more just and equitable world—one that affirm the beauty in all humanity—and leaves us feeling that it is all within our hands”—Yvette Nicole Brown “[The author’s] compassion, empathy, wisdom, and guts will remind you of what Jesus actually preached. This self-described theological ‘mutt’ is a pastor, prophet, poet, and a prince. John has given us a book of great insight and wit. It will remind you of what Christianity is supposed to be about”—John Fugelsang Rohr, Richard. Jesus’ alternative plan: the Sermon on the Mount. 2nd ed. Cincinatti, OH : Franciscan Media, 2022. 226.9 Rohr. “When Jesus talked about the Kingdom of God, he was talking abut an utterly different way of relating to human society as we know it. He lays out a blueprint for this new life in his best-known teaching, the Sermon on the Mount. From the Beatitudes onward, the Sermon on the Mount overturns conventional wisdom and traditional power structures, offering a plan for an alternative way of being. Acclaimed spiritual teacher and Franciscan priest Richard Rohr explores the implications of this vision in Jesus’ Alternative Plan”—back cover Rose, Sarah Elizabeth. Held by hope : a memoir of survival, faith, and the quiet fight to keep going. Global Publishing Agency, 2025. 813.6 Rose “I wrote Held by Hope because I needed to tell the truth—not only just for myself, but for every survivor who has ever felt silenced, unseen, or beyond redemption.” Tisby, Jemar. The color of compromise : the truth about the American church’s complicity in racism. Grand Rapids, MI : Zondervan Reflective, 2019. 305.8 Tis “If you want to understand why we remain mired in racial unrighteousness, you need to read this book. Its pages radiate not just historical but also moral insight as Tisby shines a light on to the dark places of American Church history. [This book] tells the truth -- and only the truth will set us free” – Heath Carter, Assistant Professor, Valparaíso University Children’s and Young People’s books Doerrfeld, Cori. The rabbit listened. N.Y. : Dial Books for Young Readers, 2018. J [Fic] Doer “With its spare, poignant text and irresistibly sweet illustrations, The rabbit listened is about healing heartaches big and small, and taking the time to listen”—book jacket. Tisby, Jemar, with Malcom Newsome. I am the Spirit of Justice. Illustrated by Nadia Fisher. Grand Rapids, MI : ZonderKidz, 2025. J 323.11 Tis “Lyrical texts…personify [the spirit of justice] for children, demonstrating how it inspired [African Americans] throughout key events in America’s past. In addition, an author’s note unpacks the importance behind each of [the] illustrations…helping kids better understand how they fit into the history of civil rights and how they too can work to make a difference for their future”—book jacket. |
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