WHAT DO YOU SEE IN THE PICTURE,
A PLACE OF PUNISHMENT OR RESTORATION?
On May 4 at 6:30 Demetrius Titus is coming to Blessed Sacrament to talk about the prison system in America. The Social Justice Awareness Committee had invited Demetrius to present in March of 2020, but Covid shut the world down, and we have had to wait 3 years to get him back on the schedule.
Demetrius was incarcerated for 18 years and has worked many jobs over the years, but currently he is the Deputy Executive Director of Zealous:
"ZEALOUS IS A NATIONAL ADVOCACY AND EDUCATION INITIATIVE WORKING TO TOPPLE THE HISTORIC IMBALANCE OF POWER OVER CRIMINAL JUSTICE MEDIA AND POLICY. WE DO THIS BY SUPPORTING AND TRAINING PUBLIC DEFENDERS, ADVOCATES, AND PEOPLE WITH DIRECT EXPERIENCE TO HARNESS THE POWER OF MEDIA, TECHNOLOGY, STORYTELLING, AND THE ARTS."
As of today there are 5 people registered for this event and I can't help but wonder why so few people are taking advantage of this amazing opportunity to hear Demetrius's story and get an authentic look at the state of the prison system in America. I can't help but wonder if we had invited someone to come from Life Clinic or Shelterhouse or Open Door if we wouldn't have a better response right now... We feel good about championing the unborn, the abused, the homeless, but there is something about prisoners that can make us turn our eyes and hearts away. People are in prison because they deserve to be punished, right? Aren't they bad and dangerous people who need to be kept away from the rest of us? How many of us have thought or said, "I hope they lock him up and throw away the key!"? I know that I have. It's easy to forget that the people in prison are human beings made in the image of the one who created them; the one who created them out of love to be loved and to know freedom...
Of course, if we commit crimes we need to serve our time, but that time should be more than punitive. It needs to be a time that leads to true freedom through literacy, education, job training, and counseling so that once individuals leave prison they are empowered to truly live the life that God most desires for them.
It was just a few weeks ago that we watched Father Rob wash the feet of members of our community and we heard him proclaim the words from the Gospel of John, "Do you understand what I have done for you? I have set you an example, as I have done, so you must do." So what was it that Jesus did? He healed the sick, fed the hungry, made the blind to see, ate with sinners and tax collecters, and called the outcast and undeserving to follow him. His mission was to restore people to wholeness, to include those on the margins and to set the captives free from all that holds them bound. WHO DOES THAT???? Jesus did, and he asks us to do the same. Sometimes the first step is to learn something new, to look at things in a different way, to let go of our preconcieved notions and deep beliefs and biases, and consider that the way things are, aren't the way that they have to be.
Wouldn't it be great if we all turned off MSNBC and FOX News from 6:30-8:00 on May 4 and headed over to the Parish Center to have our hearts and minds opened to how we can be pro-life when it comes to those in prison. Please click the button, and let's learn new things together:
"The only future worth building includes everyone." -Pope Francis
(Pope Francis washing prisoners' feet in 2019)
So Many Other Life Giving Opportunities
May 8: Praying with the Senses Nature Walk
https://www.blessed-midland.org/2023/04/13/prayer-walk/
May 14: Life Clinic Baby Bottle Collection Begins
June 11: Taste of Summer Bike Ride
June 25: Garden Stroll
"We are all more than the worst thing we have ever done."
Wishing you a week filled with the freedom that comes from the knowledge of how much you are loved by God no matter what you have or haven't done.
With Easter Hope and Joy,
lyn