Dear GraceInside Family & Friends,
Happy Easter!!! Uh, wait a minute…. HAPPY??? You are likely thinking, “Have you watched the news or read a paper lately?” You have a point. Our world is not a very “happy” place right now. In fact, things seem to be quite the opposite. We are living in troubled times. Consider:
- The COVID-19 pandemic has ravaged the world for over two years now, claiming millions of precious lives and stealing away so many dear loved ones.
- America is more divided politically than anytime perhaps since before the Civil War. Family members and close friends now argue and engage in politics of hate.
- Horrific weather and natural disasters such as super hurricanes, monster tornadoes and out-of-control wildfires have taken lives and property and wiped towns off the map.
- Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is leveling cities, taking thousands of innocent lives, creating the greatest refugee crisis in Europe since WWII – and could spread into a wider war.
- Inflation is out of control; supply chain issues plague us; and ever-increasing gas prices at the pump are eating away at our paychecks and our savings.
All around us – everywhere we look – we see it and we feel it:
DEATH, DESTRUCTION and HOPELESSNESS.
And just consider what has transpired in our JAILS and PRISONS over the past two years:
- Huge surges of COVID cases in many of the prisons, and the tragic DEATHS of both inmates and correctional staff.
- The pandemic led to total, complete LOCKDOWNS of prisons. Inmates couldn’t move around freely inside the institution – not even to dining halls, gyms or common areas.
- All prison VISITATION was suspended for nearly two years. Inmates couldn’t see or spend time with their family members and loved ones.
- All PROGRAMS (educational, vocational, treatment and RELIGIOUS programs and services) were suspended and non-existent for nearly two years. NO worship services or Bible studies of any kind! You could read your Bible or pray individually in your cell or on your bunk, including on special holy days like Christmas and Easter.
- CHAPLAINS and RELIGIOUS VOLUNTEERS were barred from entering the correctional facilities for 16 months (Chaplains) and for two years (Religious Volunteers).
For incarcerated men and women in Virginia’s state prisons (and for Chaplains and Religious Volunteers), it was truly a time of…
DEATH, DESTRUCTION and HOPELESSNESS.
But GOD: In the midst of the death, destruction and hopelessness of these past few years…
HE was PLANTING SEEDS, seeds that would spring forth into…
REBIRTH: A LIVING HOPE!!!
Examples:
- The Virginia Department of Corrections established a Telework Agreement with our GraceInside Chaplains early in the pandemic – one that would last for 16 months and that would allow the Chaplains to continue their work and ministry with the inmates “from a distance.” We could have had to close our doors, and prison chaplaincy in Virginia could have ceased to exist. But God had other plans! He kept GraceInside and the ministry of our Chaplains very much ALIVE!!!
- Then another MIRACLE The Virginia Department of Corrections EXPANDED GraceInside’s contract (beginning July 1st, 2021) from chaplaincy coverage at only the 30 major prison facilities to chaplaincy coverage at all 42 state correctional facilities (including the smaller Correctional Units and Work Centers)! We had to expand our staffing and coverage, and currently we have 33 Chaplains, serving at all 42 state correctional facilities and ministering to approximately 24,000 incarcerated men and women! WOW! Talk about expanding our borders and our reach!!!
The Latest News: All of our Chaplains have returned to their prison facilities. More and more COVID restrictions are being lifted. Religious programs began again in late March, and Religious Volunteers are BACK!!! It truly is a fresh start – a new beginning for our dedicated Chaplains and Volunteers. And the inmates are hungry and thirsty to worship, to study God’s Word together, and to begin growing again as “disciples on the inside”!!! Truly, God has given us…
REBIRTH: A LIVING HOPE!!!
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” (1 Peter 1:3)
And so, dear friends, even in the darkest times we get to experience a NEW BIRTH/REBIRTH and can rejoice and have a LIVING HOPE each and every day because of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead!!!
But don’t keep this GOOD NEWS to yourself! Would you prayerfully consider a special Easter gift to the critical, life-changing, hope-giving ministry of GraceInside? Would you PLANT SEEDS in the vitally important ministry of our Chaplains and help them share this LIVING HOPE with the all-too-often forgotten incarcerated men and women that they love and serve??? We are so, so grateful for your partnership!
Happy Easter!!!
Yours in Living Hope,
Rev. J. Randy Myers, President
