Hope in a high-security prison
Forbidding placeThis forbidding place, home to more than
2,000 prisoners, including 200 women, is also the site of an Opportunity
21 (O-21) pilot project, run by the IBSR. The project’s
goal is to provide mini libraries of Scriptures, containing Bibles,
Selections and other Christian literature, for 15,000 cells in some
50 state prisons. In addition, the Bible Society plans to hire theology
students to teach inmates about Christianity and show them how to use
the mini libraries. The afternoon of the Bible Society’s visit, Father Marginean Vasile Adrian from the Justice Department, who co-ordinates Christian activities in prisons across the country, was holding a Bible class in a chapel in the women’s section. After welcoming the 30-odd women prisoners and guests, Fr Marginean opened his Bible and read the parable of the Prodigal Son from Luke 15. Freedom“God has given us freedom of choice,” he told the prisoners, after closing his Bible. “We have the freedom of choosing between good and evil in our lives, and even here in prison we choose between good and evil all the time. But God is also loving and forgiving. Like the father in the parable of the Prodigal Son, he will always forgive us for our mistakes and take back his lost children with joy.” Moved by the lesson, the women sang a song, entitled Forgive Me, with all their hearts:
Fr Marginean then read from Luke 23:39-43, describing the scene between Jesus on the Cross and the two criminals crucified on either side of him. Jesus’s promise of eternal life to the prisoner who believed in him had a tremendous impact upon the inmates. Many of them wept as they listened to the story.
After the service, Duta Marcella, who had only three months left of a six-year sentence for a financial crime, told the Bible Society team that she was looking forward to returning to her family. Dignity“It is difficult to preserve your dignity in prison,” she explained. “Life is harsh here. For instance, we are not allowed to keep pictures of our families in the cells. Being separated from your family during Christmas and Easter and during birthdays is the worst thing about being in prison.” Mrs Marcella, who maintains that she was framed by a business competitor, said that some good has come of her imprisonment. “I am grateful for one thing about my time here – in prison I came to know God,” she explained. “I come from a family with no religious traditions but three years ago I started attending services here and had long talks with the priest. There is no physical freedom in prison but we have spiritual freedom. We have so much time to think and I came to realise that God loved me and could guide me to make the right choices in life. I will soon be released and I am confident that God will help me to take responsibility for my life after prison. “I especially feel that my relationship with God became closer when I started regular Bible reading, which I was able to do when the Bible Society provided Bibles for our cells nine months ago. I hope it continues with this work,” added Mrs Marcella. ImpressedFr Marginean, too, was impressed by the impact of the program on the prisoners. “O-21 is the best-organised spiritual program we have yet seen here,” he said. “In fact, one of the prisoners in this section was so dismayed to learn that she was to be transferred to a prison without O-21 mini Scripture libraries that she made a huge fuss and refused to co-operate until she was allowed to take her own mini library with her. She got her way in the end! This incident really showed us how much this program is valued by the prisoners.” Through exposure to the Word of God, the Bible Society hopes that prisoners and prison staff alike will learn about Jesus and the forgiveness, love and care that he taught. (SR 27/8 - 11.01) [PHOTOS] |
