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To: Ministry Friends
September 2006
Knock Knock! Who’s there? It’s Mike! Not a joke!!!
Standing in the rain, bicycle leaning against the pine tree,
trembling and teary eyed from anxiety. Eyes downcast, not speaking clearly,
“Come on in Mike! What brings you here?” It’s not a social visit! Mike is
confused, can’t think straight, filled with anger, wants to either die or go
back to prison, but his sentence was completed a year ago. It would take a new
crime with new victims. He doesn’t want to hurt anyone ever again. But he is not
surviving. In and out of mental wards, lots of meds, but nothing helps. Anger
building, quitting jobs to avoid conflict, no hope for change, all is lost,
better off dead.
I place my hand on his shoulder and pray for God to bring peace to Mike’s mind,
body and soul. Simple prayer, nothing exotic, just simple words to a God who is
omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. Then as we talk, peace comes slowly at
first, as tears are shed and tissues are wadded in Mike’s hands. His mind clears
as does his speech and I begin to understand him. After an hour he is smiling
and feeling peaceful. The loss of his cell phone is a big issue because it
isolates him in his rural motel room (12 miles from town).
We develop a plan. We put his bike in the back of my
pick up and drive to town. With donated funds I buy him a trac phone and
some minutes. We make
plans for another trip to town the next morning to get his meds for the day. He
is not allowed to have more than one day’s meds at a time because of the danger
of OD’ing. Life is bearable again for another day.
Now is the time, at the bottom of his life, with no
hope of change, no future, frequently in crisis, NOW is the time for Mike to
turn to Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, “I will give you a new heart and put
a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a
heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my
decrees and be careful to keep my laws. You will live in the land I gave your
forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God.” Ezek 36:25-28
Our ministry does not end when we leave the prison
after the Sunday night church service. It does not end when the convict is
released and his sentence comes to an end. We continue whenever there is a real
need. Months and years after release the people who have been touched by God
through The Church At Prison remember and return again for help. Society is
safer and the Kingdom of God continues to advance one soul, and one step, at a
time.
7 Souls
Saved
Every Sunday evening at 6:00pm we gather in the
cafeteria at NWSCF and pray for the Church service. We pray for the worship and
the message and that more souls will be saved. On Sunday August 6 we had nearly
twice as many inmates attending as the previous week. God anointed the music
worship and the message. At the end of the service seven men came forward to
commit their lives to Jesus Christ. The Kingdom of God advanced again. PRAISE
GOD!
Ministry
to parents
We get many telephone calls from parents and
grandparents telling us that a young man from their family has been arrested.
These are “hidden” victims of crime the media never reports on. Their heartbreak
is painful and the tears are many. “Can you meet with him and see what you can
do to help him? Is he repentant for what he has done? He mentioned not wanting
to live any more. I think he is suicidal. What can be done?” This is what we
hear from broken hearts. Sometimes we hear “He has been arrested again for the
third time. We did everything we could for him but he did it again.” We listen
and pray with them. We visit the young men and give advice along with Biblical
counsel. Sometimes the young man is only 18. Sometimes he is 38. Will he turn to
the Lord, repent and turn his life around? Will he play on the emotions of his
family and drain them of their resources? Will he survive? Will the parents
survive?
Because of our experience over the last 14 years we are
able to help parents cope and understand what to expect and how to react. The
priority of course is to help them turn to Jesus Christ and pray for help and
wisdom. When they do this, He brings peace and comfort.
Then there are some families where the men have been
going to prison on a regular basis for two or even three generations. When
someone in the family passes away it’s the Prison Pastor who is asked to do the
funeral. He is the only clergy they know. A few years ago we had 5 members from
one family attending our church service at NWSCF. Please pray for our ministry
to family members.
Marian Fay
On March 18, 2006 relatives and friends gathered at Essex Alliance Church in
Essex, VT to celebrate the life and to mourn the death of Marian Fay (92).
Marian traveled to NWSCF in St. Albans every week. In later years even blindness
did not stop her from ministering to the men at NWSCF. The picture on the left
is the celebration of her 90th birthday at NWSCF. Her dear friend Bettie Clark
is helping her cut the cake.
Marian – by Fred
Little
I have heard it said that a picture is worth a thousand
words. So, when Pastor Pete asked me to write a brief article about how the late
Marian Fay had touched my life, I decided to include a picture that I feel
illustrates the kind of friendship that I shared with Marian.
As you can see, the picture is that of a mother
lovingly embracing her infant son. The viewer is left to imagine what is going
on within the soul of each one as they look into each other’s eyes. Perhaps the
mother is silently thanking God for the blessing of this precious child—seeing
in her mind’s eye the great man that he will one day become. While, at the same
time, the little one is marveling within himself about how good he feels when
ever this lady picks him up. What ever the case may be, the unconditional and
relational love shared between a mother and a son is clearly seen in the
photo—the kind of love that I was blessed to share with Marian Fay.
From the day that we first met, Marian Fay embraced me
and loved me as if I was her natural son. She visited me regularly and
corresponded with me often. She enthusiastically taught me truth from God’s Word
and about life. She prayed for me faithfully, encouraged me compassionately, and
even rebuked me sternly whenever I needed it. Marian was a constant source of
encouragement to me and always made me feel like a person of worth whose
friendship she valued greatly. Her steadfast presence and unconditional love
were instrumental in helping me through the last decade of my incarcerated life
and I will forever be grateful to God for sending His love to me through the
life of such a virtuous and Spirit-filled lady.
PS: It is written in the book of Proverbs that a person is known by what others
say of them (Prov.27:21). And Jesus said that His disciples would be known by
their love for one another (John 13:35). As you reflect on what I have written
here, you will realize that Marian Fay was a disciple of Jesus Christ who
understood that love is expressed through action—even unto those considered
least among us. Our challenge is to live and love as Marian Fay did, by inviting
Jesus Christ to be the Lord of our lives, and by expressing our love for Him by
keeping His Word.
Prayer Support
As we continue bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ into
dark places we are in need of PRAYER covering. Please pray for this ministry and
other Prison Ministries in VT. The Kingdom of God is advancing into places most
people fear to tread. But as God chooses His vessels to minister in those dark
places He anoints them with the power from on high needed to overcome the
darkness.
Please prayerfully consider your support of this
ministry. With your help we will continue in this mission field and the
Kingdom of God will continue advancing one soul at a time.
Pastor Pete
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