Dear friend,
Imagine walking into your local library, planning to read a
theologian such as Reinhold Niebuhr or Karl Barth -- or even a
bestseller by Jim Wallis or James Dobson.
But instead of finding such important and popular titles, you
discover that the religion section had been decimated - stripped
of any book that did not appear on a government-approved list.
That's exactly what's happening right now to inmates in federal
prisons under a Bush administration policy. As _The New York
Times_ put it, "chaplains have been quietly carrying out a
systematic purge of religious books and materials that were once
available to prisoners in chapel libraries."
I've just sent a message to the Federal Bureau of Prisons
protesting this absurd policy. Will you join me?
Just click here:
http://go.sojo.net/campaign/prisonlibraries?rk=ApShBY51p0BpW
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I am forwarding this to you to ask for your prayers and your action. Last June, our ministry Board of Directors began discussing the more restrictive attitude toward our devotional, "A New Day in Christ." A significant increase was noted in the number of devotional guides being refused, and some chaplains began contacting us, informing us that the devotional could no longer be accepted into their facility. We have been involved in this ministry to prisoners across the country for a number of years, and were concerned. I have some "inside contacts," my brother employed by the BOP, and my father a volunteer prison chaplain, I asked them if they knew of anything that might be going on that would be affecting how our ministry was being received in prisons.
I learned then that the federal prisons had been directed to take a much stricter stance regarding donated religious material, because some of it had been determined to be of a radical nature, and could lead to threats against homeland security. Directive had been articulated to cast suspicion on certain specific types of religious materials. The law requires the Federal Bureau of Prisons to offer the same religious protection to all faith groups; it likewise must impose the same limitations across the board on all faith materials.
I agree that the message of the Jesus Christ is indeed radical in nature, as it calls us to seek peace, not power. It calls us to place the needs of others before our own. It calls us to be on the side of the powerless, the poor and imprisoned. It also calls us to share this radical, selfless love of God with those in prison, and so we continue to do so. But we know this directive, while it affects our ministry, is not really aimed at us. We are just another casualty of the War on Terror. When the "New York Times" reported on the stripping of the chapel libraries at Federal Prisons, it was further confirmation that this policy has been taken to the next step, and again we have ceased to be governed by our nation's Constitution (another very radical document, I might add), and are instead being governed by fear.
Please pray for those in prison to have the peace of Christ abiding within them to show them the right path to object to this challenge. Please pray for those who minister inside the prisons to never be discouraged from bringing the light inside the dark walls of despair. Pray for officers and administrators who are pressured to comply with directions contrary to their beliefs. Pray also for those who set this policy, that their fear be overcome by the message of the Gospel, that Jesus came not for the saved, but for the lost. And finally, if you feel led to do so, consider signing the letter attached, as proposed by Sojourners. If you consider this to be an unfair imposition on the religious practice of those in prison, I hope you will all share it with everyone you know who might be willing to speak out against religious censorship.
Peace and grace,
Rose Anne Knight
New Day in Christ Ministries, Inc.
A ministry of First Cumberland Presbyterian Church
2119 Avalon Place Houston, TX 77019
713-522-7821
newdaymin@clearsail.net
