Prison Ministry Team Report for January
At our January meeting, special guests Maya Ben-Shahar and Cedric Theus, co-directors of JustUs, the documentary we showed after service on Sunday, Nov. 10th, joined us for a nearly hour-long discussion that ranged from the challenges they faced making the film to their current projects.
Here’s a link to an informative article in the Des Moines Register about this documentary: https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/opinion/columnists/2022/10/08/prison-documentary-justus-cedric-theus/69540910007/ The film is free for viewing here: https://tubitv.com/movies/644714/justus.
In our Q & A with the filmmakers, Maya talked about how the documentary shows the difficult time a person released from prison has re-entering society. Ced (who is incarcerated for life without parole) spoke to us through Maya’s cell phone. He encouraged us to keep spreading the word about the film and told us how many parents have shown it to their children. Among their future plans is an illustrated book Ced is writing for children who are confined because of mental health problems and disabilities. They hope the book will help those children and enlighten others. They’re currently looking for an illustrator and publisher. PMT member Sally Hartman suggested they check out UUA publisher Skinner House Books (www.uua.org/publications/skinnerhouse).
PMT continued to be active in its Pen Pal program. Members regularly correspond with incarcerated individuals either by “snail mail” or through the Iowa Department of Corrections’ o-mail system, CorrLinks. We are always looking for volunteers to write to inmates. Incarcerated persons tell us over and over how important it is for them to hear from those of us outside. Just knowing that there are caring people who haven’t forgotten them and are willing to spend time writing to them is a deeply meaningful, positive experience for them. And it is very rewarding for volunteers, too. We can set you up with contacts, instructions for using CorrLinks and postal mail, and a sample introductory letter to use or modify as you see fit. If you think you might be interested, please email prisonministry@uusic.org and one of us will get back to you. You can also check out our page on this website at www.uusic.org/connect/#justice.
The UUA has a prison ministry through the Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Worthy Now Prison Ministry Network. They’re also looking for people to become pen pals to incarcerated individuals nationwide. For more information, go to worthynow.org.
The UUS Prison Ministry Team meets on the first Tuesday of each month in the UUS Conference Room. You are welcome to join us at our next meeting on Feb. 4, 2025, at 7 pm, either in person or via Zoom.
Post Content URL: www.uusic.org/connect/#justice (under Social Justice Groups & Community Service Teams)
