Reflections on Kairos #32, March 9-13, 2005

Kairos in General
Kairos is a ministry of the Church. It has been referred to as the best example of the early church in existence today. It is an interdenominational Christian ministry whose programs are currently in many countries and languages. The program started in a maximum security prison in Railford, Florida in 1976. It grew out of an earlier attempt to take the Cursillo 3-day short course in Christianity to the prisons. The word Kairos is a Greek word for time. Kronos is also a Greek word for time meaning linear time in hours or days. Kairos means a special time set aside for a particular occurrence "God's special time like when an expectant mother looks at her husband and says... It's time." The purpose of Kairos is to establish strong Christian communities among the populations of correctional institutions. A statement heard over and over again from residents attempting to describe the ministry of the 3-day short course has been: "It wasn't the words that got to me. I've heard words like these often in my life. It was the acting out of them. The love."

Kairos at CGGCI
(Camille Griffin Graham Correctional Institution)
A little bit about the institution: Kairos #32 at Camille Griffin Graham Correctional Institution on Broad River Road in Columbia, SC. There are three state women's correctional institutions in SC. CGGCI, where we just had Kairos #32, is a maximum security medical prison. That means that when the inmates leave for funerals or hospitals, they leave in belly chains and leg chains. This prison also houses the seriously ill female inmates: HIV positive, Hepatitis, Cancer patients, Dialysis patients, etc. This prison also has a death row; however no female is currently on death row in SC. The average number of inmates at any given time is 500-700. Currently, there are approximately 50-60% black and 40% white. 85% of the inmates are addicted to alcohol and/or drugs. 27% have less than a 6th grade education.

The majority of the inmates are from Greenville County. The Chaplain referred to Greenville County as the "Lock-'em-up county." The warden of this institution is a Christian and has attended a Cursillo 3-day weekend. She is very supportive of Kairos and has a personal goal of every inmate in the institution to have an opportunity to attend a Kairos weekend. She has been a warden for 30 years and said that nothing has had greater impact for long-term positive change in the actions and personalities of the inmates than Kairos.

St. Giles' Contributions to Kairos #32
There are five ways we can support the Kairos Prison Ministry. We can help provide cookies for all the inmates, give handwritten notes to the Kairos inmate participants, provide prayer support during the weekend, provide monetary support and/or send a volunteer. St. Giles did all five. How many loaves of barley bread did Jesus get from the ordinary little boy - 5 loaves of bread and he performed a miracle. We, ordinary people, offered our lunch to Jesus in the form of 5 ordinary offerings: 130 dozen cookies (each team member is asked to bring 100 dozen), 138 handwritten notes (each team member is asked to bring 42) (52 of our handwritten notes were written by our children), $300 (enough to sponsor two inmates for the retreat; each team member is asked to sponsor one inmate), one large beautiful chapel felt prayer banner, 3 agape posters, prayer coverage for all waking hours and one volunteer team member. We gave him our lunch and he worked miracles. It is difficult to describe in words how God worked in the lives of all present but it was beautiful and it was miraculous. The residents were so touched by the outpouring of love. When I felt the unmistakable call to be involved with prison ministry, I questioned why God would want me and how he could use me. I am not a trained teacher, musician, pastor, counselor, nurse or social worker. But each time I would seek God's answer to this question, I received the same answer: I just want you to tell them that I love them. We at St. Giles have told these ladies that God loves them through our prayers, our cookies, our cards, our donations, our posters and art, and in our presence. The following is an excerpt from one of the letters I have received from an inmate:

"I am so blessed to be a part of Kairos. It's such an amazing event in my life. I love God. It's so wonderful to share things that happen in life good or bad, with our Kairos family. I always wanted to thank you and all the ladies for believing in us. I believe without Kairos in the prison system, I think a lot of inmates would feel unloved. God working inside the hearts of all you ladies has saved a lot of lives. I know Kairos has changed my life, even a long prison term I face right now is easier to accept with the help of Jesus. I can't wait to see all of you ladies next month. God Bless you always."

Kairos Reunions
The 2nd Saturday of each month, the volunteers join the inmates in the prison gym for a Kairos reunion. We start at 9:30 and end at 2:30. We sing, line dance, eat, and meet in small prayer and share groups. The goal of the reunion is to model Christian community so the ladies can develop prayer and share groups on the inside.

Thank you so much for your continued support of this outreach ministry. Please take a few minutes and check out the Kairos #32 bulletin board that Caroline Welsh so beautifully prepared located by the church office. If anyone would like to know more about this ministry or would like to consider being on team or know of female clergy that might be interested in being on team as a Kairos Spiritual Advisor, please call Starla Revels at 989-0592 or email at srevels@ngc.edu.