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Hoosier United Methodist News Archives
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February 2004 |
Prison Ministry Conference to feature experts on restorative justice
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The United States has a higher rate of prisoners than any other nation in the world.
With seven percent of the world's population, America has 25 percent of the world's prisoners.
According to the United Methodist Women's study by Harmon Wray, Restorative Justice: Moving Beyond Punishment, "On any given day, one-third of the nation's black males in their twenties are under the control of the criminal justice system -- in prison or jail, on probation or parole."
In an effort to address these urgent needs, the South Indiana Board of Church and Society is hosting "Proclaiming Release to the Captives" a conference on prison and jail ministries on Saturday, Feb. 21 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Bloomington First United Methodist Church.
The conference will feature nationally recognized experts on restorative justice, Harmon Wray and Kelsey Kauffman.
Wray is the Nashville, Tenn.-based executive director of the National Association of Sentencing Advocates, affiliated with The Sentencing Project in Washington, D.C. He also is a free-lance writer, speaker and consultant on restorative justice and criminal justice issues, working with both faith-based and secular groups.
Kauffman, a former prison officer, is the author of Prison Officers and Their World (Harvard University Press, 1988). She writes extensively about prisons including articles in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Christian Science Monitor. Her research and advocacy has focused on the growing presence of white supremacy groups in Indiana prisons. She is a graduate of Yale and Harvard Universities and is a fellow with the Open Society Institute.
The conference will offer models for ministry with inmates and their families. Participants may explore the possibility of creating a conference-wide network to consider issues of restorative justice. Churches and ecumenical groups participating in the conference will be eligible to apply for a $500 grant for new and existing prison-related ministries.
To register contact Lourdes Gonzalez at the South Indiana Conference office: email at lgonzalez@sicumc.org; or on the conference Web site at www.sicumc.org.
Last updated on 04/19/2004