Status of My Pet Resolution

Just to let you know that there are things happening here that have to do with actual mission, I want to tell you about a resolution I co-sponsored D-021, Prison Ministries.

The original was written by Brad Drell of Western Louisiana. Brad and I got to know each other sparring on our blogs and on the House of Bishops/Deputies listserv. While we might be sparring partners, we both love the Lord Jesus and we both have a heart for prison minsitry. He because he is committed to it, and me because God through the person of the original hound of heaven, Bob Romerial (formerly of Trinity, Easton and now attending our branch office in Bethlehem ) dragged me into it at Northampton County Correctional Center. We believe that the Church has a fundemental call from Jesus himself to care for the imprisoned as well as the much nicer sick and poor.

The original draft was rewritten to, but the heart of the proposal remains the same: make for workable programs inside prisons, look to establish congregations where feasible, minister to families of the incarcerated and provide for theological education for the incarcerated. All well and good.

The problem is deciding which committee, commission, body or group will oversee it. Seems that the committee that oversaw prison work no longer exists, and we have to clarify if an earlier resolution, A011, actually re-created the group that the current D021 refers to.

Got that? If so, then pick up your electronic voting doohickey and press "1" for yes.

Then there is the issue of whether it will be funded in the budget. There are are several conventions that passed similar work that was never funded.