Summer Newsletter 2005

The summer has been HOT!!

This summer has been one of the hottest on record, it is certainly the hottest that Sheila and I remember since we came to CT from Virginia in 1992. Thank you Lord, for air conditioning.

For Free Inside it has also been a hot summer, God has kept us busy and blessed us in so many good ways.

After Care

Mark Hemenway, director of Vision New England Prison Ministries and I have been working on putting together a model for re-entry and after care of ex offenders. This is a very needy area, since ex offenders face even greater challenges when released than when in prison. There are far too few resources available to them, and even fewer which are faith based. It is our prayer that God will help us to make some contribution to the solution of these problems. We hope to be able to announce the launch of this program for New England within a few months.

·   Pray for the ministry of after care.

Training New Volunteers

In July and August I led two training sessions, which were great. A total of 19 attended, 5 were existing volunteers looking for a refresher, and 6 will join our teams as new volunteers starting in the Fall. Please pray for them. Some still need to go through their in prison orientation, which can be a take some time.

·   Praise for the new volunteers and pray for them

Starting in Another Prison

Williard-Cybulski (W-C) in Enfield

On August 10, Harold Sawyer and I met with the Chaplain, Rev Jose Morales, at W-C, along with Larry Mayer who is from First Church, Wethersfield. It was a very productive meeting, the  Rev Morales is a great guy, young and enthusiastic. He could not have been more helpful. He is going to actively promote Alpha in the facility. We agreed on a start date of Thursday September 22.  He has also agreed to a Saturday retreat day, at around the 8th or 9th week. He still needs to look at the facility calendar before he confirms the specific Saturday. This venture is a first for us in that it is a cooperative ministry with the Prison Alpha team from First Church, Wethersfield. It is a great opportunity to express our unity as Christians by serving together.

·   Please pray for this new team under the leadership of Harold Sawyer.

Start dates

York, 9/13; Gates and Bergin 9/14; Willard-Cybulski 9/22

·   Pray that all will go smoothly, that many inmates will sign up and that God would open their hearts to His love in Christ.

Catholic Alpha

I had hoped to start a Catholic Alpha at both York and Bergin, but I have been unable to get any new Catholic volunteers. I am still looking, when God sends us some we will make a start. Please pray about this, the program has been approved at both Bergin and York, we are just waiting for the volunteers.

·   Pray for volunteers to come forward

Space does not allow . . .

me to tell you about a visit to Rhode Island in July, to meet up with a group of folk in Barrington doing prison ministry. About speaking opportunities I have had, or about the many trips and growing mileage on the car for the ministry. Anyway it is still summer time and a long newsletter might not get read. Come the fall I will fill you all in with other good accounts of the working of our good and gracious God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Finally

• Please pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on our volunteers and for every inmate who attends our courses stating in September .

Peter Dewberry,

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