And then I said to the guard, ‘May peace be with you,’ and that changed everything." —Inmate in the maximum security prison at Portage, Wisconsin.

“May peace be with you.”

This was the comment from a member of The Prison Ministry Project’s “Spiritual Discipline Group” at the Columbia Correctional Institution at Portage. He was talking about how the practice of meditation and spiritual awareness had changed his everyday life inside the prison walls. In 2006, with the support of The Wisconsin Conference of the United Church of Christ, The Southwest Association of the United Church of Christ, and local congregations, First Congregational UCC of Madison began “The Prison Ministry Project.” The Director of the program, Rev. Jerry Hancock, J.D., M.Div. and many volunteers have made more than 300 face-to-face visits with inmates inside the walls. These have been both one-on-one pastoral visits and a number of programs such as the Spiritual Discipline Group at Columbia Correctional Institution, parenting classes and the enormously well-received Restorative Justice Program, as well as communion services. This is the heart of the Ministry of Presence, and the number of visits inside the walls is considered to be a major accomplishment of the ministry.

These are the facts which inspired the church to make this commitment:

• We know the criminal justice system allows prisons to operate at 120% of capacity. But we know that is not God’s justice.
• We know the criminal justice system allows prisoners at Green Bay and Waupun to be double-bunked, sharing a cell and an open toilet most of the day. But we know that is not God’s justice.
• We know the criminal justice system has allowed the prison population to increase 300% in 15 years. But we know that is not God’s justice.
• We know the criminal justice system has created a prison population, the majority of whom are African American and Hispanic. But we know that is not God’s Justice.
• We know that the policy known as “Truth in Sentencing” denies even the possibility of human transformation. But we know that is not God’s Justice.
• We know that in the criminal justice system in Dane County, a young black man is 218 times more likely to go to prison than a young white man. But we know that is not God’s justice.

"I was in prison, and you visited me." - —Matthew 25:36

Ours is a pastoral ministry of word and sacrament for prisoners inside the walls. It is a ministry of help for their families. It is a ministry of resource for local pastors and congregations faced with members in prison or who want to learn how they can respond to the Gospel of Matthew. It is a ministry of advocacy for prison reform. It is a ministry of cooperation with other denominations and social justice programs around the state. For the members of our churches, it may mean lobbying at the capitol, writing letters to prisoners, singing in the choir inside the walls or helping arrange a family visit.

In addition to these programs which can be tangibly seen and counted, the ministry’s most important charge is to tell the stories of people on the inside to people on the outside. It is in telling these stories that we are transformed. We may have begun this ministry thinking that we were bringing God to people in prison, but we have found that they, too,were bringing God to us.

For more information please contact Rev. Jerry Hancock at 608-658-6630 or send e-mail to jhancock@firstcongmadison.org.