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Kairos is a continuing prison ministry launched with the presentation of a 3 day short course in Christianity in a correctional institution. This short course is offered by a interdenominational team composed of approximately 50 clergy and lay persons drawn from the area surrounding the institution. It is attended by 36 residents who are carefully selected by the institutional chaplain. The purpose of Kairos is the building of strong Christian communities within the environment of correctional institutions. After the 3 day short course is completed, the primary continuing ministry of Kairos is from resident to resident and occurs in small "share and prayer" groups that meet weekly. Members of this church are currently serving on a team that will conduct a short course at Zephyrhills Correctional Institution (ZCI) during the latter part of April. Team members who work a Kairos weekend make a commitment to return to that prison once a month for a "reunion" with the residents. It is a time of sharing, of instruction, of worship, of fellowship, or renewal...for both out mates and inmates.
Impact of Kairos MinistryMost inmates in the US will return to society in less than 3 years and, for a variety of reasons, many released inmates will return to prison again. Continuing studies being carried out in four states indicate dramatic reduction in the recidivism rate among those who have experienced Kairos. Kairos files are full of letters from prison wardens, correctional officers and other members of the criminal justice system detailing the dramatic impact the Kairos ministry has had on the lives of inmates throughout the United States and Canada.
Church Leaders RespondThe Rt. Rev. Furman C. Stough, then Episcopal Bishop of Alabama, wrote in his diocesan magazine after serving on a Kairos weekend: "I have never seen the gospel impact on a group of people with such power and so quickly in such a short period of time. I do not think that I have ever laughed as much or cried as much or prayed as much as I did during those 4 days. What we saw in these 42 inmates, and in ourselves as well, was the real person that God made, slowly beginning to emerge from behind all kinds of barriers erected over the years. Real human beings, your brothers and mine, beginning to once again trust God and to trust themselves to love once again." The late Most Rev. Joseph G Vath, Roman Catholic Bishop of Birmingham wrote in his diocesan magazine after having worked a Kairos weekend in a maximum security institution in Alabama" "I guess the very impressive sight of Roman Catholics, Baptists, Episcopalians, Methodists Lutherans, and members of other denominations forming a team to give Christian witness to prisoners in the environment of their own prison is bound to move even those of little faith...what a transformed world this could be if everyone could share the love of Christ, the love of fellow man, the willingness to serve community, and the abiding sense of prayer in unity that this weekend brought.
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