In this edition we bring you some “Good News” stories.  They all reflect the true of prison ministry – Prison Chaplains, Prison Fellowship and church volunteers working together to bring a message of joy and hope to prisoners and their families.  Ordinary people making extraordinary sacrifices.  And believers who are both blessed and strengthened as they come together to respond to Jesus call to ‘visit the prisoner”. 

May you all rejoice in “the reason for the season” – our Saviour, Jesus Christ. 

In this Edition 

• Joyce Meyers Prisoners of Hope Tour

• New appointee to Prison Fellowship Board

• A Call to Sacrifice – a story from the Angel Tree

• Volunteer Day in Auckland

Joyce Meyer Ministries Prisoners of Hope Tour of New Zealand

Early in 2007 the Director of Joyce Meyer Ministries (JMM) Australia, Tom McKaskill contacted Prison Fellowship NZ (PFNZ) to investigate the possibility of bringing the Prisoners of Hope tour to the New Zealand prisons. Prisoners of Hope is a project run by JMM around the world, giving hygiene packs to prisoners – consisting of a bottle of shampoo, some soap, and a letter and a book from Joyce Meyer. JMM has taken this project into 1,841 prisons in 49 states in USA and 22 countries around the world handing out 1,432,302 hygiene packs.

After many setbacks we were thrilled to announce that the tour of the North Island prisons went ahead in the last week of November. It was a joint venture between JMM, Prison Fellowship NZ, and the Prison Chaplaincy Service of NZ. The chaplains were a fantastic help, and as the spiritual leaders of the prisons, were a key to this project succeeding. Lance Thompson, PFNZ Regional Coordinator for Auckland, accompanied Tom and his team around the North Island – chaplains were on hand to assist them at each site together with Prison Fellowship PFNZ volunteers.

They visited 15 prisons throughout the North Island, and ministered to around 6,800 prisoners.

Major Graham Rattray was recently appointed to the Board of Prison Fellowship New Zealand, to fill the position left by the untimely death of Major Peter Thorp.  He is currently the Salvation Army’s Consultant for Courts and Prisons.  Graham is also on the Board of the Prison Chaplaincy Service.  

“Life is an exciting journey.  My wife Christine and I entered the Salvation Army Training College in 1972 beginning a venture that continues to today.  Queenstown was a great place to spend two years apprenticeship as Church Ministers followed by another twenty three years in Corps (Churches)  up and down New Zealand  During that time we found ourselves participating in Bible studies and Chapel  times in a number of prisons as well as sponsoring prisoners during the latter days of their sentence.  This was all good training for an appointment in late 2000 as the Court & Prison Officers at the Manukau Courts as well as doing some study.  Christine continues at Manukau District Court seeing it as one of the greatest places of ministry afforded anyone.

At the beginning of this year The Salvation Army appointed me as the National Consultant for Courts and Prisons along with a role in the Rethinking Crime and Punishment project..  Since then we have seen  an explosion of opportunities for ministries that make a difference in the lives of those caught up in criminal behaviour. 

Through all of this time I have been aware of and sometimes worked closely with Prison Fellowship New Zealand and have come to appreciate the strengths, drive and commitment of the people who make up this organisation.  As churches we all need each other to achieve the work of ministry.  The challenges are far bigger than any one ‘body’ but are surmounted when the ‘Body’ of Christ works together in Unity.  Being given the opportunity to represent the Salvation Army on the board of Prison Fellowship New Zealand is an honour and I look forward to sharing in the challenges and opportunities of ministering God’s love and healing to the people who fill our prisons”

Angel Tree is a worldwide Prison Fellowship programme that provides Christmas toys and the Gospel to prisoners’ children who might otherwise be overlooked during the Christmas Season.  This story talks about the sacrificial love that is very much a part of the Angel Tree program. 

“Christmas is right around the corner and churches across the country are working hard to make sure that more than 3000 children whose parents are in prison can have something to look forward to this holiday season. For many, giving a gift to a child in need means a simple trip to the Warehouse, but for five kids from one family, it meant giving up their own Christmas presents. 

The Hemi family [1], knew what it was like to wonder if Christmas was going to happen. Jack Hemi, 37, and his wife, Tala 35, both work.  Jack  is a supervisor at a factory, and Tala a night cleaner.  They make enough to put food  on the table, but Christmas presents were not always a possibility.

But, their financial situation didn’t keep the Smiths from contributing to Angel Tree.

Tala Hemi’s interest in prison ministry began five years ago when she read about Christian ministry in the prisons.  Tala sensed God calling her to write to prisoners. “For three days I wrestled and argued with the Lord that I didn’t want to write to any prisoners,” she said. “He won!” So she began corresponding with three prisoners. As she continued to write, her heart for those behind bars grew.

When her church decided to sponsor Angel Tree children two years ago, Tala was thrilled. “It was a way for us Christians on the ‘outside’ to fill the gap for those on the ‘inside’ by stepping up and helping a parent do something for their children that they cannot do themselves.” She encouraged her five children, ages 9 to 17, to participate by selecting the names of prisoner’s children off the tree.

But this year, finances posed a problem.  Jack was involved in a motor accident, and finances were short.   Jack and Tala decided that they would not have enough money that year to buy gifts for Angel Tree children and provide gifts for their own kids. “We’ve never been overly blessed as far as finances go,” Chris said. “When the time came to choose whether to participate in Angel Tree we told the kids we had ‘x’ amount of dollars to spend at Christmas.”

Jack and Tala sat the kids down and gave them the choice—they could either receive Christmas gifts or purchase gifts for Angel Tree children with the money that would have gone toward their own gifts. All five children chose Angel Tree.

“I was glad to see that they were more willing to give up something that could have been theirs instead of being selfish,” Tala said.

For the kids, the decision was immediate. “I like the feeling of giving to other kids,” said Hoani, age 12.

Matiu, 15, agrees. “When we were little, we didn’t have money for gifts,” he said. “One year someone gave us a bunch of gifts. I have my share of stuff—others don’t have that much. I don’t regret giving gifts to others.”

Although the Hemi’s didn’t even have enough money to give gifts to each other this past Christmas, they hope to participate in Angel Tree again in the future should finances allow.

Christmas carries many lessons, lessons of joy, hope, and peace. But the incarnation and, ultimately, death of Christ teach us an even greater lesson—sacrifice. As Christ, the baby from Bethlehem, sacrificed his life for us, the example of volunteers like the Hemi's reminds us of our call to sacrifice to those around us.

To find out more about Angel Tree, click here

Volunteer Day in Auckland 

Lance Thompson reports from Auckland, on a gathering organised by Prison Fellowship for church volunteers;

On Saturday 29^th September, we held a small gathering of some of the Prison Fellowship team to say thank you for the commitment they had shown over the last year. After considering for a while the possibility of opening the occasion up to other ministries, the Department of Corrections, and any other interested groups, we decided to keep it low-key and personal. We had attendees from teams that represented each of the Auckland prisons.

Overall, the day was a success. It achieved its objectives and provided a platform from which to develop a regular, family-style day. Approximately 50 attended which was a reasonable response considering the time of year that coincided with school holidays, church conferences, and Promise Keepers the following weekend.

We showed some DVD clips of the work being done in prisons throughout the world…in particular, Benin, Fiji, and Belize, and San Pedro Prison in Bolivia. For everyone involved in prison ministry, whether associated with Prison Fellowship or not, these clips emphasize that we are all part of an effort far larger than what we see in New Zealand – let alone Auckland

The aim of the day was to bring together the various groups that are not given the chance to meet each other on a regular basis – groups with the same passion and calling. We wanted to give them the chance to tell some of the stories of their prison work and to hear the exciting advances made at other prison sites. We were fortunate to have Arthur Bolkas as the guest speaker, a renowned criminologist and Director of Lives in Transition (a reintegrative initiative that operates in Victoria, Australia) who expertly bought home the importance of “being consistent” and the vitality of an effective reintegration strategy. Dianne Thompson, the wife of an ex-prisoner also shared her testimony of the struggles and pain faced by the families of those incarcerated.

Comments from some of the participants…

Thanks so much for a wonderful day on Saturday on behalf of Ruth and myself and others from our team that attended.   It really was a day that felt very honouring to us all and the work that we undertake.                                                                   - Linda

Thank you so much for making the meeting yesterday possible, and for both you and Dianne sharing so much of yourselves in ministry and encouragement.

I was hugely touched by every aspect of yesterday, and particularly Arthur’s message and challenge. I found God speaking directly to me through him, and the last 24 hours have been like open heart surgery for me.                                                                                                - Ian

What a great day it was today – I know that all of us came away refilled and refuelled with God’s mighty Spirit. Great to have the various speakers – and that precious time interacting with each other.  Life sure is full of challenges, but what a joy as we come out victorious! ...

-          Nina

We, the team from Praise & Worship Centre, were really blessed with the meeting on Saturday. The speakers and the DVDs really inspired and motivated our group from South Auckland. Our group has now seen the bigger picture of the kind of work Prison Fellowship is involved.

                                                                        - Pastor Cliff