image: Lawrence Hamilton, Rita Weick and Stephen Cardoza
We would like to introduce ourselves. We are the Contemplative Outreach Prison Outreach Service Team, or COPOST. We were founded in 2022. Our mission is to accompany and provide resources to those affected by incarceration as they learn and practice Centering Prayer, as well as to support volunteers, both inside and outside locked facilities, who are called to engage in this activity, that together we may share in the process of divine transformation.
Most of us on COPOST regularly go into a locked facility to teach Centering Prayer to those inside and facilitate the practice of Centering Prayer. COPOST does many things, but in this article, we would like to share three of them.
Annual Retreats for the Formerly Incarcerated
Since 2023 we have held an annual Centering Prayer retreat for those who learned Centering Prayer while incarcerated, but have been released. The first retreat was held at the retreat house in Snowmass, Colorado in January of 2023. The second retreat was held in Atlanta, Georgia at the Ignatius House Jesuit Retreat Center, just after the Contemplative Outreach Conference held at Emory University in 2024. Our third retreat was held September 2025 at Sacred Heart Jesuit Retreat House in Sedalia, Colorado. Twelve people attended, seven who were formerly incarcerated and five volunteers, including those who led the retreat. Those who were formerly incarcerated attend these retreats at no cost, thanks to funding provided by Prison Contemplative Fellowship dba Praestolari, who partners with COPOST to sponsor the retreats. These annual retreats provide something special to those who learned Centering Prayer “inside the walls” and have never been on a Centering Prayer retreat before. One of the attendees to the September 2025 retreat, Stephen Cardoza, shares his experience of his first retreat.
What was it like on retreat with others, especially those who had been “inside the walls” like yourself.
Well, the retreat center was beautiful. We each had our own room, and the setting was beautiful, with walking trails among the natural beauty. Also, the food at the retreat was awesome! I remember the first meal of the retreat, everyone was late to dinner. But once we went in to eat together that first time, we discovered that they had a gourmet chef who prepared the food. They had the biggest salad bar I’d ever seen, filled with all kinds of fresh greens, vegetables and fruits. And they had an amazing buffet as well. The dinner was excellent! After that first meal, everyone was 15 minutes early for every meal! I ate institutional food for 25 years, and then when I got out I didn’t know how to cook, so I mainly subsist on Top Ramen noodles. So to have gourmet food was totally unexpected and quite the treat!
We were in silence most of the retreat, except for the opening dinner and closing dinner, but even so I got to know several of the people from Alaska, Georgia and Florida, and have kept in touch with them since the retreat ended.
What was the schedule for the retreat?
Well, it was a seven-day retreat. We sat three times a day, once early in the morning, once around mid-morning and once in the afternoon, each time for about an hour, although you could sit for the minimum of 30 minutes if you didn’t want to sit for the full hour. Every afternoon we would also watch a short video of Fr. Thomas Keating teaching aspects of Centering Prayer, with light discussion afterward. To do that in a silent retreat setting was special. I had been practicing meditation for the 25 years I was in prison by myself. I’m used to being in a setting in prison where there are thousands of people and lots of noise and lots of rules. And as you know, prison is not a quiet place. So to sit in community was different than anything I had previously experienced. Even though we didn’t talk much because we were in silence, there is a power of sitting in silence, silently praying, all focused on connecting with the Holy Spirit at the same time. There’s a closeness and a power that I had never experienced before.
I had a heart of gratitude the whole time I was there. It was special to feel well taken care of by the retreat leaders and the staff of the retreat house. I felt accepted by everyone, which was very special and touching to me. I hope I can go back to the retreat again next year because it was so deeply meaningful and definitely a blessing to me.
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Providing Information for Inmates Across the USA
Another project COPOST has put a lot of work into this past year has to do with a new technology being adopted by many prisons across the U.S. It is called EDOVO. In many prisons, prisoners now have their own tablet which has lots of material loaded on it’s hard disk. It is not connected to the internet. To get information on the hard disk one has to use EDOVO to upload material onto the tablets used by the prisoners. So COPOST has been digitizing lots of material as part of one giant upload early in 2026. It includes all of the Contemplative Outreach newsletters from the past 40 years, many videos of Fr. Thomas Keating teaching about Centering Prayer, two books on Centering Prayer by Cynthia Bourgeault, and a series of letters written by one of the COPOST members called “Letters from Theophilus,” which teaches people “inside the walls” how to practice Centering Prayer, and lots more. All this work has been led by Ray Mueller, a member of COPOST, who has done major video work for Contemplative Outreach for over 30 years.
A Word from our Newest Member
Gary Hardy, who recently was release from prison after 25 years, offers this short reflection. We hope it gives you some insight into how powerful the practice of Centering Prayer can be for those who are incarcerated.
“In many ways, prison can become a place where a deep journey of spiritual growth and transformation begins — particularly for those who are ready and willing to listen. Within the stillness and limitations of incarceration, some discover an unexpected openness to God’s presence.
“Centering Prayer offers a path beyond denomination and dogma, inviting both incarcerated individuals and volunteers into a shared practice of silent consent to the presence and action of God. Distinct from other religious or spiritual approaches, this practice is rooted in silence, simplicity, and surrender, allowing transformation to unfold not through effort or instruction, but through attentive presence.
“Centering Prayer may be practiced alone — anywhere, anytime — or with others in a circle, where a quiet and authentic community often emerges. In these shared moments, distinctions between “inside” and “outside” begin to soften, and a deeper sense of mutual belonging takes shape.
“The mission of CO’s Prison Outreach Service Team is to accompany and provide resources to those affected by incarceration as they learn and practice Centering Prayer. Together — individually and in community — we participate in a gentle, ongoing process of divine transformation.”
In His Grace, For His Glory, Gary W Hardy, PhD
In Conclusion
If you would like to know more about our work, you can go to the Community tab on ContemplativeOutreach.org website and scroll down to Prison Outreach. Or you can simply send us an email at Centering@cpprisonoutreach.org, and we’ll be happy to answer your questions. We are also happy to attend your group using Zoom to make a short presentation and answer your questions.
The members of COPOST: Rita Weick, Ray Mueller, Hampton Deck and Gary Hardy
