Manchester church awarded national grant to launch prison outreach ministry Filed under Charitable Causes, Featured, State

no comments Stan Moody MANCHESTER The Meeting House Church has been awarded a grant of nearly $18,000 t o develop a 2-year pilot program to work with the criminal justice system in Ken nebec and Somerset counties to mentor, advocate for and intercede on behalf of o ffenders and their families. The grant was provided by the American Baptist Foundation of Valley Forge, PA., as part of its national effort to build healing communities that will minister to and welcome prisoners and their families, both during incarceration and when the prisoners re-enter society. I find this program fascinating because it addresses the exact place where the ch urch can make a difference, said Sandy Wright of Mount Vernon, a longtime Meeting House Church member and a co-founder of the churchs new Maine Prison Chaplaincy Corps (MPCC). Families of offenders are unjustly tagged with the same social stigma of their lo ved ones and have become an exiled community, Wright said. We hope to work togethe r with other advocates to help heal all people affected by crime. If the church cannot become a place of healing and restoration, it has become irrelevant and m ight as well close its doors. The MPCC pilot program was developed after years of effort by Rev. Stan Moody, w ho has led the Meeting House Church for 18 years and who worked as a prison chap lain until the homicide death of segregated prisoner Sheldon Weinstein at Maine State Prison in 2009. Moody has written extensively, as well as speaking out publicly, about the dysfu nctional corrections system in Maine. Moody is concerned for both the prisoners and the guards who are tasked with assuring the safety and dignity of the prison ers, regardless of their crimes. We are grateful for the support of the American Baptist denominations, both in Ma ine and across the United States, Moody said. The American Baptist Churches USA (A BCUSA) offers a baseline of 5,500 congregations and a long history of home missi ons. As a mainstream denomination, ABUSA offers a unique opportunity to join wit h other community stakeholders to restore dignity to offenders and their familie s. Beginning in October, the MPCC hopes to train, certify and put to work a group o f 10 to 12 lay chaplains who would work with prisoners, their families and victi ms in the two central Maine counties. Moody hopes the program will one day be ad opted statewide. The corrections systems in the U.S. are broken, Moody said. Not only are they finan cially unsustainable, but socially bankrupt. With the U.S. incarcerating 25 perc ent of the worlds prisoners, there are few families who have not been impacted in some way by the justice system. We can no longer ignore the social impact of crime, punishment and wasted lives o n our culture, Moody said. The local churches may well be the last line of defens e. They have woefully shirked their duty out of fear and ignorance. In addition to the start-up grant, ABCUSA is providing the services and support of Fela Barrueto, national coordinator of the churchs Prison Reentry and Aftercar e Ministry. Barrueto, who attended the Aug. 17 meeting of the MPCC, offered to a

ssist in establishing a training program that would lead to national certificati on to lay chaplains. The program will operate under the auspices of the American Baptist Churches of Maine, whose executive director is Dr. Al Fletcher. In a separate but complementary effort, Wright and others from the Meeting House Church will meet soon with probation officers and others to learn about their n eeds and how the church may help men and women on probation, as well as their fa milies and victims. Under Moodys leadership, the Manchester church has earned a reputation of develop ing outreach ministries. Its Albert Schweitzer Academy for the Arts (ASAA) has b ecome a model for churches offering classical music and arts to the local commun ity. In its 11th year and presently led by Barbara Moody, the ASAA recently adde d the First Baptist Church of Gardiner as a partner. Filed under Charitable Causes, Featured, State Tags: American Baptist Foundation, maine, maine state prison, Manchester, Meetin g House Church, Stan Moody Maine Humorist Tim Sample on September 2rd a