Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    PrayingThrough the Bars: A Pastoral Testimony For Prison Visitors
    PrayingThrough the Bars: A Pastoral Testimony For Prison Visitors
    PrayingThrough the Bars: A Pastoral Testimony For Prison Visitors
    Ebook47 pages36 minutes

    PrayingThrough the Bars: A Pastoral Testimony For Prison Visitors

    By Keith Robert Maddock

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Keith R. Maddock, a member of Toronto Monthly Meeting, has many years of experience in prison visitation and has been involved in several justice organizations. Here he gives us the benefit of that experience, expanding on his earlier pamphlet, Beyond the Bars: a Quaker Primer for Prison Visitors. In this one he presents a more in-depth discussion that includes theological underpinnings that relate to his experience. He reminds us always to approach prison visitation with humility and empathy. He tells us stories of his encounters with inmates, and encourages us to have the courage to listen fully to their stories. He gives practical suggestions as to specific conversational openings and how and when to explore questions of faith and spiritual testimonies. Finally, his writing is an encouragement to those who would take on this important ministry.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCanadian Quaker Learning Series
    Release dateOct 19, 2016
    ISBN9781370370900
    PrayingThrough the Bars: A Pastoral Testimony For Prison Visitors
    Author

    Keith Robert Maddock

    Keith Robert Maddock obtained degrees from the Toronto School of Theology in Religious Education and Pastoral Theology, before becoming a Friend in Toronto Monthly Meeting. He served for twenty years as a volunteer chaplaincy visitor at the Toronto (Don) Jail until it closed down in 2014, and also worked at the Salvation Army Hope Shelter for homeless men. He has represented Friends on the Church Council for Justice and Corrections, the Ontario Multifaith Council for Spiritual and Religious Care, and the Alternatives to Violence Project. Currently he has also been serving as a volunteer spiritual care provider at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto. He is the author of a Pendle Hill Pamphlet (No. 342) entitled "Beyond the Bars: a Quaker Primer for Prison Visitors" and numerous essays on poetry, spirituality and pastoral care.

    Related to PrayingThrough the Bars

    Related ebooks

    Christianity For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      CfaN 45 Years

      Sep 4, 2020

      CfaN 45 Years
      4 min read

    • Article

      The Rise Of The Chaplains

      May 17, 2020

      The Rise Of The Chaplains
      3 min read

    • Article

      Modern Forms Of IDOLATRY

      Aug 25, 2023

      Modern Forms Of IDOLATRY
      4 min read

    • Article

      How God Is Using A Devoted Pastor To Further His Kingdom In This World

      Aug 7, 2020

      As Christians, we are called to be salt and light in society. We are called to be history-makers and world changers. We are called to be fruitful in our lives, to achieve much for the Kingdom of God. Our mandate on this earth is to go out into all na

      4 min read

    • Article

      The Importance of Evangelism

      Jul 22, 2022

      “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded yo

      2 min read

    • Article

      CHRISTIANS & HYPOCRISY

      Sep 23, 2022

      1 In essence, “hypocrisy” refers to the act of claiming to believe something but acting in a different manner. The word is derived from the Greek term for “actor”—literally, “one who wears a mask”—in other words, someone who pretends to be what he is

      2 min read

    • Article

      Let’s Talk PRAYER

      Jun 24, 2022

      We pray for a variety of reasons: it is a form of serving God (Luke 2:36-38) and obeying Him (Phil 4:6-7). We pray to demonstrate our faith in God, but most importantly, because Jesus did it. Prayers not prayed will be prayers unanswered. If the Syri

      7 min read

    • Article

      Saturday, April 4

      Feb 14, 2020

      WRITING IS MY CALLING. EVEN without compensation, I would write. My latest book explores the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I wrote the first draft in 2005. Countless editors rejected it. Over ten years, I rewrote the manuscript no fewer than eig

      1 min read

    • Article

      A Scriptural Study Of Isaiah 6 Isaiah’s Calling To Be A Prophet Part L

      Oct 21, 2019

      So many times, we pray for an Isaiah 6 experience. A scripture well known to all of us. The experience where the train of the robe of Abba Father filled the temple, in a vision that Isaiah saw. The posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cri

      3 min read

    • Article

      Remembering Luther & the Diet of Worms...

      Mar 10, 2023

      Is anyone keen on a special diet to keep fit? With many making plans that include some fitness goals, the answer may be an emphatic yes! How about a diet of worms? Mopane worms, to be specific. These may be a delicacy north of the Limpopo River, thou

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Kingdom In The Marketplace

      Mar 16, 2020

      Today, there is little understanding of the message of the Kingdom in the marketplace, yet we are all called as ministers to grow His Kingdom (2 Cor 3:6). Many set worldly goals for the selfish advancement and selfish rewards, where work has just bec

      1 min read

    • Article

      The Parables Of Jesus

      Jun 16, 2023

      The Parables Of Jesus
      4 min read

    • Article

      A Prayer To Overcome Cancer

      Oct 30, 2020

      Jesus, I thank You that You died on the Cross to deliver me from fear and to overcome the power of sickness and death. I thank You that Your name is above every name, and the power of cancer is broken in my life and the lives of my loved ones. Lord J

      1 min read

    • Article

      Prayer Therapy

      Mar 27, 2020

      Prayer Therapy
      6 min read

    • Article

      Stumbling Blocks That Delay Church Transformation Part 5

      May 20, 2022

      In my previous writings I have pointed out that institutionalised Christianity is fading away. Organised religious systems are sucking the life of Christ out of believers. In many cases, believers are busy with the church programme, but not with God.

      2 min read

    • Article

      The Biblical Tithe

      Jun 25, 2022

      The Biblical Tithe
      3 min read

    • Article

      Caregivers For The Spirit

      Jul 21, 2020

      Caregivers For The Spirit
      6 min read

    • Article

      A Note From The Editor

      Jan 15, 2022

      So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. JOHN 16:22 (NIV) THIS MORNING, I missed my sister, Maria, who has been in heaven for more than a decade now. I was thinking a

      1 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for PrayingThrough the Bars

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      PrayingThrough the Bars - Keith Robert Maddock

      Praying Through the Bars:

      A Pastoral Testimony For Prison Visitors

      Keith R. Maddock

      Copyright 2016 Keith R. Maddock

      Smashwords Edition

      Contents

      Preface

      Introduction

      Main Text

      Endnotes

      Annotated Bibliography

      Author Acknowledgements

      About the Author

      Publishing Acknowledgements

      Preface

      When I was overseeing seminary students visiting in the local jail, written resources for them were sparse. Keith Maddock is filling this void with a second pamphlet, for which I am grateful. His annotated bibliography on this subject is the finest one I have seen.

      Visiting persons incarcerated in our jails and prisons has never been easy. Now it is even harder, as Keith Maddock notes, with our penal system greatly overcrowded and the guards often overwhelmed. The visitation program at the seminary where I taught was put on hold while a new jail was being built. The conditions in the old jail were so difficult that the students were not able to get in, even though they were approved by the prison authorities.

      At the same time, Christians are called to be present precisely where people are most poor and marginalized. Jail visitation is a ministry unto the one least of these (Matt. 25:45), which Jesus supported in a stunning way: He asserts that when we visit those in prison, it is as though we visit him (Matt. 25:40).

      Keith provides a model in this pamphlet of unflagging perseverance in visiting persons behind bars, even when he honestly admits that he is not sure sometimes whether his visits are making any difference to those persons. His writing calls us to be faithful rather than worry about success. And he gives us stories, reflections and specific tools to encourage and guide us in this important ministry. Moreover, he offers an alternative to the more traditional evangelistic and totally Bible-quoting approach which many persons of faith will find congenial and encouraging.

      For sustained ministry in jails, you will need ongoing training, support, and supervision. Finding others in your faith community who might be interested in such visitation would be a good place to start. Reading this book and discussing it, praying for discernment of whether to proceed with such a ministry, obtaining the blessing of your faith community, then finding someone who can provide some initial training - all would be good initial steps.

      Finding a way into the prison systems is the next important step. If the jail or prison has a chaplain, that would be the logical person to approach. If there is no chaplain, you will need to inquire about the staff person who oversees visitors, in particular ministers and other persons of faith. There may well be forms to fill out, perhaps a police background check, then obtaining some kind of badge of identification in order to be admitted for visits. Once the visitation gets underway, you will need to debrief with others who are also visiting, support each other, and find ongoing oversight from a person who is experienced with your setting. Again the chaplain at the jail or prison

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1