Blessedness out of Brokenness: Receiving Life at Angola State Penitentiary (DVD) This one-hour documentary presents the stories of inmates that bring clarity to Jesus’ teaching as they share the blessedness of the beatitudes in their own lives. Many of these men are facing life sentences, yet they have found new life and purpose through their faith in Jesus Christ.
Breaking Down the Box (DVD) Breaking Down the Box examines the mental health, racial justice and human rights implications of the systemic use of solitary confinement in US prisons.
Changing Paradigms: Punishment and Restorative Discipline After several decades working in the field of restorative justice, Paul Redekop concludes that punishment is a major obstacle to healthy societies, families, and schools. Punishment can be so damaging, cruel, and barbaric, especially to children, that it should be replaced with restorative discipline, and societies should move toward a punishment-free justice system.
Christian Reflection Vol. 42: Prison (Magazine) Our contributors offer a theological critique of the prison system and articulate positive responses for Christian disciples.
Down In The Chapel A story of one week at Graterford prison 35 miles outside Philadelphia where the writer records down to earth religious matters among Protestants, Catholics, Jewish Muslims and Atheist.
Executing Grace: How the Death Penalty Killed Jesus and Why It’s Killing Us (Book) Shane Claiborne explores the issue of the death penalty and the contrast between punitive justice and restorative justice, questioning our notions of fairness, revenge, and absolution.
Good Punishment In Good Punishment? James Samuel Logan critiques the American obsession with imprisonment as punishment, calling it “retributive degradation” of the incarcerated. His analysis draws on both salient empirical data and material from a variety of disciplines — social history, anthropology, law and penal theory, philosophy of religion — as he uncovers the devastating social consequences (both direct and collateral) of imprisonment on such a large, unprecedented scale.
In Our Son’s Name: A Documentary Film By Gayla Jamison (DVD) “In Our Son’s Name” is an intimate portrait of Phyllis and Orlando Rodríguez, whose son, Greg, dies with thousands of others in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. The bereaved parents choose reconciliation and nonviolence over vengeance and begin a transformative journey that both confirms and challenges their convictions. As their search for meaning evolves they speak out against anti-Muslim actions and find peace in working with prison inmates.
I Was in Prison: United Methodist Perspectives on Prison Ministry (Book) A holistic framework for ministry with the incarcerated, their families and victims of crime.
Long Road Back: Ex-Offenders’ Struggle for Acceptance (DVD)
Feel the heartbreak and the victories as you follow a young woman putting her life back together after eleven years in prison. Long Road Back seeks to reduce the fear and stigma experienced by those re-entering society after serving a term in prison.
Maximum Saints: Walk into the Light (DVD) Transformation Project Prison Ministry brings transformation to the hearts and lives of the incarcerated through the love and power of Christ. We accomplish this using the talents of the
The Ministry to the Imprisoned (Book) An overview of jail and prison ministry with practical guidelines for volunteers who wish to pursue the gospel mandate to visit the imprisoned.
More God, Less Crime: Why Faith Matters and How It Could Matter More (Book) In More God, Less Crime renowned criminologist Byron R. Johnson proves that religion can be a powerful antidote to crime. The book describes how faith communities, congregations, and faith-based organizations are essential in forming partnerships necessary to provide the human and spiritual capital to effectively address crime, offender rehabilitation, and the substantial aftercare problems facing former prisoners. There is scattered research literature on religion and crime but until now, there has never been one publication that systematically and rigorously analyzes what we know from this largely overlooked body of research in a lay-friendly format.
Redemption of the Prosecutor (DVD) When prosecutor and devout Christian Preston Shipp began teaching in a Nashville prison, he never thought he’d be the one to get schooled. But the friendship he forges with one young prisoner puts his faith in the justice system, and in Jesus, to the ultimate test.
Through the Door (DVD) Churches and faith-based organizations are working together in dynamic ways inside and outside prisons, helping returning citizens productively re-enter society. Through the Door tells stories of what goodwill Christians are doing in Indiana, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.
The Wounded Healer: Ministry in Contemporary Society
The Wounded Healer is a hope-filled and profoundly simple book that speaks directly to those men and women who want to be of service in their church or community but have found the traditional ways often threatening and ineffective. In this book, Henri Nouwen combines creative case studies of ministry with stories from diverse cultures and religious traditions in preparing a new model for ministry. Weaving keen cultural analysis with his psychological and religious insights, Nouwen has come up with a balanced and creative theology of service that begins with the realization of fundamental woundedness in human nature.