Spring 2016
In This Issue
Building Community Connections
Christa Fisher, the Interim Chaplain for the men in the jail, also serves as the Volunteer and Community Outreach Coordinator. This position was created in the Spring of 2015. The blending of the chaplain role and this role provides Chaplain Christa with a unique and important perspective. Each week she is given an intimate invitation to know the needs and the possibilities that exist withing the jail, and each week she is provided a public platform for discussing these needs and possibilities. Some of the things that are happening as a result of the outreach work are:

Spanish Language Ministry
It is estimated that of the men serving time in Dane County Jail, nearly 20% identify as Latino or Hispanic. While many of the Latino men speak English, not all are fluent in English. For those who are not, jail is a very isolating experience. Additionally, men and women who have emigrated to the U.S. from other countries often have a deep desire and need to discuss their faith in culturally-specific ways. For these reasons, we are developing a Spanish Language Ministry within the jail. Our current efforts include:
  • Developing a network of Latino and Latina pastors who are available to provide Spanish language pastoral care to incarcerated men and women.
  • Expanding the Spanish language or bi-lingual section of the Chaplain's Library to include more Spanish language Bibles, as well as a supply of monthly devotionals, prayer/icon cords, and quality reading materials.
  • Adding Spanish language or bi-lingual workshop services and Bible studies.
Congregational Connections
When men and women are incarcerated in the jail, they have the opportunity to develop a relationship with a chaplain and to participate in a faith community through worship, prayer and Bible study. This can be a time of great spiritual growth. Often upon release, these same men and women are eager to continue participating in a faith community. Yet the reality is that few people end up joining a fail community post-release. While there are many reasons for this, the primary reason is a sense of alienation and stigmatization. To help overcome these barriers, we are developing a network of local pastors who meet with men and women, one-on-one, while they are incarcerated, developing relationships within the jail which will later be lived out within the community.

Bible Studies
Opportunities for biblical study are very limited within the jail. Currently, the Gideons offer on session per building each week. Due to a number of logistical factors, only a handful of men and women are able to participate in each of these sessions. We are currently working with the Dane County Jail Staff to add two more weekly Bible studies within the Public Safety Building, and we will soon begin conversations about offering additional Bible studies in the City County Building. Local pastors have received Jail Access Training and are eager to begin spending time with men immersed in the Word.

Worship
Chaplain Julia provides for women each week in both building of the jail. Due to space limitations in the Public Safety Building, Chaplain Christa coordinates a weekly Protestant worship service for men only in the City County Building (CCB). Approximately 25 men worship in the CCB each week. This number is a result of jail programming policies rather than demand. Many more men request to attend worship than are eligible. To allow for more men to participate in weekly worship, we are working with Dane County Jail Staff to add a second worship service each week. This change would allow an additional 25 men the opportunity to worship each week. Representatives from local faith communities have received Jail Access Training and are eager to begin worshipping with the men.
Human Trafficking
Chaplain Julia Weaver and Chaplain Christa Fisher, with a grants from the Dominican Sisters and   A Fund for Women , have been working on a project that will identify women incarcerated in the jail who have been victims of human trafficking. Working with many colleagues and caregivers in the community, the Chaplains have identified new ways of hearing the stories that men and women share during individual spiritual care. For more information about this important area of the ministry, please refer to the excellent article that appeared in The Fund for Women news.
Touring the Dane County Jail
by Jerry Cook

Touring the Dane County Jail is a recommended experience. The tour is provided by the Sheriff's department staff.

You begin your tour in the lobby and will be directed to place all personal items in a secure locker. Let the dehumanization begin. The deputy leading the tour is an excellent communicator and explains that the job of the deputies is to confine, control, and provide comfort to people who are incarcerated.

Entering the booking area, you see individuals who have exchanged street clothes for jail blues. Here  they are fingerprinted, photographed and logged into the incarceration system.

Then it's on to the holding cells that are similar to solitary confinement cells. Here people can be visited by a lawyer or public defender. If medication is needed, that will be determined. The area is brightly lit, drab-colored, concrete and steel.

Next we head upstairs to residential areas. The first is a 6 person cell block for those who need more control. Inmates view you as you do them. Their looks are expressionless and lack emotion. We don't know their crimes but do know that most involve drug and alcohol problems. The jail community is basically quiet and empty of life even though their are 700 or more people housed here. We are told many of the steel cell doors in the City County Building were received from Alcatraz Prison. The cell iron bars are in a steel tube that spins so they cannot be cut.

We next move to one of the bay areas (pods) that house 20-60 inmates who share a large room that contains beds, tables, chairs, and TV. A deputy watches over this room from a special station.

In another area are the solitary confinement cells that have a steel bed and pad, toilet facilities of steel, and a steel door with slot for conversation or food tray. Bright fluorescent lights are on most of the night and day.  

The jail does have a library, a limited exercise room and a gym. These are available to those people who exhibit good behavior. There is also a nice chapel in which services are held and may be attended by a limited number of those who request to attend. The jail has two Chaplains that are available to inmates by request.

Chaplains Julia Weaver and Christa Fisher provide a much needed ministry to the Dane County Jail inmates. This ministry is supported by partner churches and individuals. Your donations are greatly appreciated.  
Family Ties
Family is a bond that can't be broken,
Maybe bend but not break.
Family has a love that's not chosen,
It's fate.
I would like to apologize
Even if it's too late.
In the past I didn't learn from my mistakes,
I was stuck in my childish ways.
This time I promise to change.
I know you've heard this again and again.
But the difference between now and then--
I'm a man and taking a stand.
I need you, I love you with all my heart.
Understand I lost focus,
I hid a lot of pain that runs deeper than the ocean.
I'm learning to love myself, I'm learning to love my life
I lost all hope at one point.
I got low.
The only thing that keeps me fighting is my family
Who I still have, I hope.

~Kyle Crawford~
Wish List

If you are inspired make a donation, we can use the following items:

~ stamps

~ loose-leaf paper

~ eye glasses (1.00 - 4.00)

~ white t-shirts sized 3X and up

~ colored pencils

~ writing pencils (pre-sharpened is very helpful!)

 

Please email Chaplain Christa to arrange drop-off or pick-up of items. Thank you!
Did You Know?
The length of a sentence determines whether or not a person will be incarcerated in jail or prison. Sentences of one year or less are served in the county jail. Sentences of more than one year are served in one of Wisconsin's thirty-six prisons and correctional centers. 

Special Thanks
We are grateful to the Madison Christian Giving Fund for their generous grant that will help fund Chaplain salaries while we continue to put into place our funding stabilization plan.

Thanks to the Association of Spiritual Caregivers for granting funds for the Jail Tapestry Project, which will help pay for weaving supplies and individual pastoral care for women in the jail.

Thanks to our new member congregation at the New Life Lutheran Church for joining our organization!

And, always, we offer thanks to our member congregations for your ongoing support and prayers.