One by one they shuffle into the chapel...some with heads hung low...some with stern faces and a set jaw...some looking sleepy...and some in a fairly good mood. Someone makes a comment to another, and he curses back at him. Another one reminds him we are in God’s house and he quickly looks toward the chaplain and apologizes. They all take a seat toward the front. The new ones, in particular, try to act uninterested. They don’t know what this is about just yet.
These are the faces that we see every Friday morning for Bible Study at the Marion County Jail. These are the kids our society has deemed irredeemable. Though juveniles, they are no longer in the juvenile system, but have been waived over to the adult system. They look so young... and they are! Kids who think they are men, who have tried to grow up too fast, and then one stupid move, and the world as they know it has been brought to an abrupt halt. And here they sit in green jail uniforms. On any given Friday, we will have kids who have been charged with carjacking,, robbery, murder, rape, burglary, and all kinds of drug charges. For some, their charges will be dropped and they will be free to go. Some of them will be convicted, but released on probation or home detention. The rest will be sent to adult prisons to serve out their sentences. Of those, some will only be gone a few years...others several decades. How is a 16 year old boy supposed to wrap his mind around the fact that he’s facing a possible 60 year prison sentence? Should he even be here? Is this right? He’s only a kid! Angry, violent, and volatile, yes, but still...only a kid. As a chaplain when they come in my office, I see what they don't show on the news. I have the opportunity to see the kid...I listen as he talks to his mama on the phone, both of them crying. But when you watch the news...what you see is the worst thing this kid has ever done. Yes, often horrific and despicable things! But there is always so much more to the story than what we see on the news. Yes, justice must be served! But what is justice supposed to look like in such a case? What is compassion supposed to look like? What is “too harsh?” What is “too soft?” Does anybody even care?
Some of us do. And as God’s church, we are called to do much more than that! In this room full of society’s throwaways, I see promise! I see potential! I see hope! Because it’s not about where they are, it’s about who and more importantly, whose they are!
Each week, Shawn and Lynn go to the Marion County Jail on Monday, Thursday and Friday. On Monday and Thursday, they do pastoral care with the juvenile offenders. On Friday morning, they co-lead a Bible Study with these same boys.
How You Can Help:
1. Easy to Read Versions of the Bible. (paperback only)
2. Travel Sized Hygiene Products: (toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, bars of soap, deodorant.
**Pay close attention to ingredients! Nothing with even the slightest alcohol content is allowed.
3. Stamped Envelopes and notebook paper (loose leaf only!)
BANNED ITEMS:
*Nothing with metal or glass on it or in it.
*No hardback books of any kind.
*Nothing with even the slightest amt of alcohol content, (ie mouthwash, some lotions). PLEASE CHECK LABELS! If alcohol is listed it is not allowed!!
These are the faces that we see every Friday morning for Bible Study at the Marion County Jail. These are the kids our society has deemed irredeemable. Though juveniles, they are no longer in the juvenile system, but have been waived over to the adult system. They look so young... and they are! Kids who think they are men, who have tried to grow up too fast, and then one stupid move, and the world as they know it has been brought to an abrupt halt. And here they sit in green jail uniforms. On any given Friday, we will have kids who have been charged with carjacking,, robbery, murder, rape, burglary, and all kinds of drug charges. For some, their charges will be dropped and they will be free to go. Some of them will be convicted, but released on probation or home detention. The rest will be sent to adult prisons to serve out their sentences. Of those, some will only be gone a few years...others several decades. How is a 16 year old boy supposed to wrap his mind around the fact that he’s facing a possible 60 year prison sentence? Should he even be here? Is this right? He’s only a kid! Angry, violent, and volatile, yes, but still...only a kid. As a chaplain when they come in my office, I see what they don't show on the news. I have the opportunity to see the kid...I listen as he talks to his mama on the phone, both of them crying. But when you watch the news...what you see is the worst thing this kid has ever done. Yes, often horrific and despicable things! But there is always so much more to the story than what we see on the news. Yes, justice must be served! But what is justice supposed to look like in such a case? What is compassion supposed to look like? What is “too harsh?” What is “too soft?” Does anybody even care?
Some of us do. And as God’s church, we are called to do much more than that! In this room full of society’s throwaways, I see promise! I see potential! I see hope! Because it’s not about where they are, it’s about who and more importantly, whose they are!
Each week, Shawn and Lynn go to the Marion County Jail on Monday, Thursday and Friday. On Monday and Thursday, they do pastoral care with the juvenile offenders. On Friday morning, they co-lead a Bible Study with these same boys.
How You Can Help:
1. Easy to Read Versions of the Bible. (paperback only)
2. Travel Sized Hygiene Products: (toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, bars of soap, deodorant.
**Pay close attention to ingredients! Nothing with even the slightest alcohol content is allowed.
3. Stamped Envelopes and notebook paper (loose leaf only!)
BANNED ITEMS:
*Nothing with metal or glass on it or in it.
*No hardback books of any kind.
*Nothing with even the slightest amt of alcohol content, (ie mouthwash, some lotions). PLEASE CHECK LABELS! If alcohol is listed it is not allowed!!