"My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."    Galatians 6:1-2

On a cold winter day in Akron, Ohio, over lunch in the tiny soup kitchen of an urban church, I met recently-incarcerated men who now lived in transitional housing where they supported and supervised one another. Then my brother Steve, an Anglican deacon and co-director of Truly Reaching You (TRY), gave me a tour of the housing while the men were at work-in apprenticeship programs also arranged by this ministry, so the former prisoners can learn such skills as remodeling, landscaping, and custodial work. I admired the clean, comfortable, homey environment. Steve pointed out the locks on the doors of the individual rooms, giving the residents a sense of privacy that prison lacks, and the chore list on the kitchen wall. And he explained that the men know their rooms are subject to surprise inspections. A man with three violations (such as possession of alcohol or failure to sleep in the house for a night) is sent downtown to the shelter, where he sleeps on a cot in a large, barracks-style room. If he follows the shelter's rules for a week, then he may return to the transitional housing.
 
The ministry works, with 46 completing the program in its three years of existence, and only one of the 46 returning to jail-a far cry from 68% returning to prison within three years of release, the statistics provided by the Ohio Adult Parole Authority. TRY was founded by a man who had himself experienced incarceration, and knew what support former felons need to survive in the outside world. Prison usually has not provided them with the education, job skills, or self-discipline needed to prevent a return to the behaviors that led to their initial sentencing. Lacking the constant supervision of jail, they fall easy prey to drugs and alcohol, substances that make it even more difficult for them to make wise choices. But to Perry the most important factor was that people who have been incarcerated are typically alienated from the external community, often including their families. They are alone, ostracized, and often homeless.
 
Because of Perry, TRY's major goal is to integrate these former prison inmates into the community, by teaching them to maintain healthy relationships. Each man is sponsored by an area church, which provides regular mentorship. The program encourages positive interactions between the men and their families, including providing gifts for them to give their children. Those in the program engage in community service together. Their supervisors in the program hold them accountable for following the rules, but because they live together and meet regularly for Bible study and devotions, they also encourage one other. As one, Leonard, says on the program's website, "There are people we can talk to, we have Bible Study on Mondays, we come together as a family and go out and help other people." These former prisoners live out the words of Paul's letter to the Galatians, as they avoid temptation and help their brothers do likewise.

"Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help. Again, if two lie together, they keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone? And though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not quickly broken."    (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)

Contributed by Jean
Sunday July 4, 2010
Week 32 of Liturgical Year C
Sunday Gospel reading:
Lectionary 14 (Proper 9)
Sixth Sunday after Pentecost