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Dear Friends, Family and Spiritual Community,
I am asking that you take a few minutes and read this e-mail because it contains some of the biggest requests I've ever made in my life. I ask that you read with an open mind and heart as I work to write from the same place.
A couple of years ago I had the opportunity to visit Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. I had been working with men who were either on probation or parole for the past couple of years in a therapeutic environment and a friend of mine had put together a tour to "The Farm." I was interested in seeing what life was like at a maximum security prison as many of the men we worked with had spent time there.
Angola is a different world; a fascinating place. I learned a great deal as our tour guide shared story after story and statistic after statistic. It is situated on 18,000 acres that were previously slave plantations, surrounded by the Mississippi River on three sides, comprised of five separate camps with over 5100 prisoners. It is estimated that approximately 90% of the men there will die at Angola, most of which are there for crimes that are quite severe. Around the same percentage have lost contact with their friends and family -- they stopped writing and visiting long ago. We had the opportunity to check out a few of the places directly as well as meet and talk with a few of the men there.
I left that experience having been consumed with feelings of sadness and raw pain in ways that I've never quite felt before. I was literally overwhelmed and exhausted and wound up falling asleep on the bus ride back to Baton Rouge. The next day I had a chance to process my experience with a few close friends and get out the feelings that had been stored from that simple visit that lasted only a few hours. I had experienced one of the few deeply transformational experiences I've had in my life, and what happened next further changed my life forever.
A couple of months later my friend led a spiritual retreat inside Angola as a part of the Kairos Prison Ministry. I was a part of this retreat having felt a compelling desire to become a part of some movement to bring healing and love to a place that seemed to so desperately need it.
What I learned however was that this movement began quite some time ago. Angola was once known as the bloodiest prison in America. A quick Google search or a tour of the Angola Museum will share more than enough to easily qualify this title. Reform began a few decades ago but incredible transformation took place when Kairos began holding retreats within the prison in the early 1990s, along with other notable moral rehabilitation pursuits such as the introduction of the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary which offers prisoners the chance to earn accredited degrees in ministry. Warden Cain's sweeping policy changes had a great impact as well. Since that time Angola has itself transformed with inmate on inmate assaults with a weapon dropping from a staggering 455 incidents per year in 1990 to 60 in 2006. That is progress, yet what was underneath this change?
I hold that it is quite simply God's love.
Kairos Prison Ministry is an ecumenical Christian ministry whose primary purpose is to establish "Prayer and Share" groups within prison environments. This is begun and shared through an optional 3-day retreat held within the prison where 42 inmate residents may attend and benefit from the experience. While the retreat is wonderful in so many ways, the fact is we leave on Sunday and they stay -- still in the same environment, but hopefully with a bit different perspective on life and on Christ's love. Just as we do on the outside, it is so important to have a place and to have people to share our struggles and pray with. These groups meet weekly and offer an opportunity for Christian men to come together and provide a safe place for each other for this experience to take place.
The Kairos weekend is based on unconditional love, from start to finish. There are prayers said 24 hours a day while the retreat is happening. Homemade meals are prepared and served to the men and team on the inside. Letters of love and support from adults along with pictures and notes from children are given to the inmates letting them know they are loved simply because they too are a child of God. Approximately 60,000 homemade cookies are brought in over the course of the weekend. 60,000. Yet this is only a small part of that experience.
The Kairos weekend contains many moving processes including talks, discussions, a lot of prayer and new learning. It is a very direct and heart-to-heart experience where some ideas are considered that have never been considered before. I've heard the men share how they've never understood God's love in this way, how they've never before been so grateful to experience and learn what they have at Kairos, how they just can't imagine how strangers can do so much for them given where they are and what they've done. Unconditional love is a powerful thing -- isn't it?
This experience of unconditional love isn't really about the team members though -- we are simply carriers and a part of God's love. We are vessels as it is so often said, and this I am clear of as I have seen so many miracles take place in and around Kairos, something that only a connection with God can produce. So why have I shared all of this with you today?
On June 11th, 2009, a team of men and women will go into Camp D at L.S.P. for Angola Kairos #46. This team has begun formation and preparations are well underway -- and we need your help to make this happen. It takes a great deal of time, energy and money to make a Kairos happen yet even with all the challenges encountered along the way it DOES happen and it's through the support of the Spiritual Community as a whole -- all operating as integral parts of God's unconditional love.
If you would like to help, if you would like to be a part of this ministry, here is how we ask:
1. Participate: We need men and women to go into the prison to make the weekend happen. Men will actually be in the conference room where the retreat takes place fulfilling many roles that make up the whole experience. Women and men will work in a separate location preparing the meals and preparing and organizing the other physical examples of God's love -- prepared by others -- which will be delivered to the men throughout the weekend.
2. Pray: Prayers are needed throughout this process. The challenge is great and humans need the love from others and inspiration and guidance from God to be uplifted and reminded that we are not alone in this. You can sign up to pray for specific time slots throughout the weekend, though prayers are welcome at any given moment for the men who will participate and the team that will be there with them.
3. Cookies: 5,000 dozen cookies are needed for this weekend. That's a lot of baking but with hundreds of people helping it happens and is a wonderful way to contribute and be a part of the ministry.
4. Agape: Agape is another word for "God's love." We need letters written in this context as well as drawings and notes from children. Sunday School and Children's Church are great places to do this as well as many others gatherings and individual contributions.
5. Money: Weekend retreats cost approximately $15,000.00 to put on. Expenses include the food for all meals, the travel & lodging for the weekend, the truck rental to bring in supplies and food, the books and items used throughout the weekend, etc. Your tax-deductible donation is another way for you to be an essential part of the ministry.
6. Meals: During the team meetings that take place 5 weeks before the actual retreat, we will have lunch and will need meals prepared for the group. If you have a group (church, office staff, other clubs and organizations for example) that is interested in preparing a meal for up to 50 people please let us know.
Rather than going into detail for each of the 6 ways to help I ask that if you are compelled to become a part of the ministry through one or more of these ways, e-mail or give me a call and I'll give you those details.
The greatest support I ask for today is your participation. It takes a large team of people and it is a commitment. It is one however that you will never forget and one in which you will know you have changed the world for so many others.
Team building and training begins on May 9th and will continue each Saturday until the retreat which is July 11th - 14th. We will meet at First United Methodist Church in downtown Baton Rouge on those Saturdays to prepare to go into L.S.P. and share unconditional love with all of those there.
Have you ever been a part of a mission or ministry on this scale? Would you consider discussing with your family and most importantly praying about participating in this event? I am asking you to consider that right now. If you've made it this far in my letter then perhaps there is something connecting you to this opportunity. If you need more information, call or e-mail me now and let's talk.
Many of you I've already met or discussed this with. Several of you have already sent in your applications ? THANK YOU. I've attached the official application for this retreat for those of you that wish to participate in the weekend. Please send it in over the next few days but let me know asap if you'd like to be there.
I also had the opportunity to share my experience of Unconditional Love at my church recently. I shared my experience of Kairos as well. If you'd like another experience of why I'm doing what I do and what it has meant to me, feel free to listen to an audio recording of this message by clicking the following link which will connect you to an .mp3 download of the service: Unconditional Love.
Finally, I wish to express my gratitude to God for drawing me to this ministry. It has made such a huge difference in my life in being able to be aware of how much God loves me and how many wonderful people there are out there as a part of this expression of His love. I am grateful to Malcolm whom introduced me to this ministry and brought me on that first tour. I am grateful for Tamyra for our years in which we worked together with the men who were on probation or parole and participated in our group, where I was able to let go of prejudices and learn more about humanity.
I am grateful for my brothers and sisters in the Kairos and Emmaus community that hold closely the importance of sharing God's love with others and work to create a more peaceful and loving experience of life. Thank you all for making a difference.
And to those of you that haven't participated yet in this ministry and want to -- get ready to make a difference that will last forever.
With love and appreciation,
Ryan Bettencourtt (ryan@optimalperform.com)
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