Bishop Mary Visits Jail   

When Bishop Mary Gray-Reeves visited Santa Clara’s Main Jail in San Jose on October 8, she didn’t just come to see the men who were incarcerated. She also offered her blessings to the volunteers and officers who work with them.

Bishop Mary was greeted by the Chief of Corrections Ed Flores and Capt. David Sepulveda of the Main Jail. She also was greeted by the Rev. David Robinson, executive director of Correctional Institutions Chaplaincy, Inc., the non-profit Christian agency that provides chaplain services to the jails under contract. 

Bishop Mary met with CIC jail chaplains and several Episcopal CIC volunteers serving, not only at the Main Jail, but throughout the correctional system in Santa Clara County, which houses close to 5,000 men, women and children daily.

The Main Jail is a maximum-security men’s jail, which houses approximately 1,400 men and a few women in the acute psychiatric unit or infirmary.

After blessing the volunteers, Bishop Mary headed to 8A, the acute psychiatric unit in the jail where men and women suffering from severe mental illness or suicide attempts are housed until          they can be stabilized. This is the unit where Bruce Friesen of St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Saratoga joins a staff chaplain of CIC Ministries and there they offer Bible studies once a week to the men or women who are able to socialize. They also visit the rest of the men and women incarcerated in the unit by going door-to-door weekly making sure those who are incarcerated have Bibles and other reading material.

Bishop Mary met with several of the men, listened to their concerns and prayed with them. The parents of one of the men caught up with the Main Jail chaplain later in the week and said that the meeting was the highlight of their son’s week.

Her visit to the jail marked the first visit by an Episcopal bishop in recent memory.

Bishop Mary with some of the ECR volunteers with CIC, Diane Lovelace, 

Dwight Buzick, Bruce Friesen, and Michael Ridgeway, along with Diocesan 

Restorative Justice Commission Chair, Mary Souza

   Blessing before visiting 8A

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The Fifth Annual St. Margaret's Lecture and Luncheon

Friday, October 3, 2008

12 noon

Caring For and With People in Prison

RIMA VESELY-FLAD

Founder and Board Chair,

Interfaith Coalition of Advocates for Reentry and Employment (ICARE)

The cost of the luncheon is $15. per person. For more information, please contact

the CDSP Advancement Office at 510-204-0755 or email mmcclintock@cdsp.edu

This lecture series celebrates and explores the unique nature, practice, and challenges of women's ministries by inviting women speakers to come and share their experience and wisdom with CDSP students, faculty, staff, and guests.  Join CDSP in celebrating Rima's work and in honoring the work of women throughout the church.

Read Rima Vesely-Flad's article, "Redefining Restorative Justice," in The Witness

GOING IN / STAYING IN

JAIL MINISTRY TRAINING

Saturday  Sept 20, 2008

9:30 am  to 1:30 pm.

Maranatha Christian Center

1811 S. 7th St,  San Jose  95112

(408) 957-5843

 

Veteran volunteers: 

Yearly attendance is required to keep your clearance current.  Please plan to attend if it’s been a year since you’ve been to a training. 

New Volunteer Information:

“Going In / Staying In” training covers policies and procedures when ministering inside Department of Corrections (adult jails) or Probation Facilities (Juvenile Hall and juvenile ranches) of Santa Clara County.  Security clearance cannot be issued until a training is attended.  The next scheduled training will be not be until Jan. 2009.  

Volunteer Manual
Download this manual by clicking this link.


What is the Restorative Justice Network . . . ?

. . . an opportunity to WONDER, BELIEVE AND CREATE with God and each other as we are called to walk with those affected by the criminal justice system – victims, offenders, employees of the system, public servants, and communities. We strive to move from a system of retributive justice to one of restorative justice, where the wounds of crime are healed in community by God’s transforming love.

 . . . a place for all members of the Diocese of El Camino Real to:

-        be uplifted and inspired by stories of the Spirit at work

-        celebrate and support existing ministries

-        share resources

-        encourage one another

-        be inspired toward new ministries that bear Christ’s love

The Restorative Justice Commission of the Diocese of El Camino Real invites you to participate in this network.

Contact us at restorativejusticenetworkATgmail.com