We’d like to introduce ourselves to you, especially if you’ve never heard of us before. We are the Prison Outreach Service Team. Our goal is to bring Centering Prayer to those affected by incarceration. Most of us on this service team go into a prison either weekly or bi-weekly to bring Centering Prayer to those inside. If you want to see dramatic evidence of the power of Centering Prayer to transform someone, we encourage you to join us in ministry with the incarcerated! While those “inside” very much appreciate our coming inside to teach them Centering Prayer, all of us benefit far more by witnessing the changes they go through by practicing Centering Prayer.
Our work includes two monthly Zoom gatherings. The first, for those who haven’t yet been inside and are curious about going into a locked facility, is called What’s Inside and meets on the second Monday of most months. The second is called Volunteer Support and meets on the fourth Monday of most months and is for those who are already going inside. We invite you to attend either or both of these meetings on Zoom, even if you are just curious! To do so, register for either meeting at our email address: centering@cpprisonoutreach.org.
We also answer letters from people who are incarcerated. They write to us for a variety of reasons, mostly related to Centering Prayer. For those who are incarcerated in a prison where no one comes to lead a Centering Prayer group, a member of our team writes a series of letters that teaches anyone how to practice Centering Prayer. They are entitled “Letters from Theophilus” (Theophilus is the person that the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts was dedicated to. See Luke 1:1-4 and Acts 1:1) The series has now grown to 18 letters and counting! We mail these out to incarcerated individuals about every 6 weeks. You can also request these letters yourself by emailing us at centering@cpprisonoutreach.org.
We also sponsor and lead an annual silent retreat for those who have been paroled and for those who lead Centering Prayer groups in prison. In 2023, the first year, we met in Snowmass, Colorado, at St. Benedict’s Monastery. Last year we met in Decatur, Georgia, right after the Contemplative Outreach Conference in September. This year the retreat will be in September at the Sacred Heart Jesuit Retreat House in Sedialia, Colorado. These retreats are in partnership with Prison Contemplative Fellowship and are cost-free for those who have been incarcerated.
In the near future we are planning to host our first Zoom meeting for people interested in our work. This meeting is for YOU! In it, we will describe the work of our service team in more detail, have formerly incarcerated people who practice Centering Prayer talk about how they learned to practice Centering Prayer while in prison and what it did for them, and much, much more. Please watch for news of this Zoom meeting in upcoming editions of The Voice!
Our service team is very small, and very busy. Perhaps God is calling you to help us! If you are already involved in prison outreach through Centering Prayer and not yet connected with us, please contact us to help or to stay updated on the resources we can offer. For example, we can provide free DVDs for your use in locked facilities.
But you don’t have to go into a prison to support prison outreach. Just contact us, and we can discuss the many essential tasks to be done to further bring Centering Prayer to those who are incarcerated. In the meantime, if you would like to know more about the work of our Service Team, please go to our web address, https://www.contemplativeoutreach.org/prison-outreach-homepage/ or write to us at centering@cpprisonoutreach.org. And, if you would like to have one of us attend your group and talk about our work, that can easily be arranged by emailing us. Thanks!
