TWIN CITIES PRISON MINISTRY
"So, what first sparked your interest in a second-chance ministry like prison ministry?"
Last week, the Twin Cities’ Prison Ministry leadership gathered at St. Bridget’s – 3811 Emerson Avenue North, Minneapolis. I asked those gathered what specifically got them interested in the ministry. “That is, besides Jesus’ teaching that we Christians are supposed to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and visit the imprisoned and the sick,” I added.

One person said that it was knowing that a great many people were missing a parent, brother or child at Christmas. And that plenty of children weren’t getting presents for Christmas because of an incarcerated parent.

Another leader mentioned a family member with significant mental health issues. And knew that a major reason for his incarceration was his behavior-skewing mental illness. There wasn’t a ministry supporting him during and after his incarceration … and so she wanted to be a part of such support for others in a similar situation.

One story resonated with me and what sparked my interest: 

A leader had figured that most everyone has made bad decisions in their lives. And for some people, one bad decision leads to the next and then to the next and then to the next … eventually leading to long-term incarceration. “There but for the grace of God go I,” she said. 

I had to say “Amen” to that.

Each person also mentioned how rewarding such ministry is – and one’s ministry doesn’t have to be inside a prison or jail. Many ministry opportunities serve the incarcerated from outside the prison, or with their family members. 

Come to this Saturday morning’s Prison Ministry Workshop at St. Bridget’s. If only to see what it’s all about. And do tell others about it. More information follows.
 
Everyone is welcome, no matter one’s faith tradition.

~ Fr. Paul Jarvis
Twin Cities Prison Ministry and
Church of St. Bridget's Presents
"Introduction to Prison Ministry Activities"
Saturday, September 7, 2019

Sojourner Truth Academy
3820 Emerson Avenue South
Minneapolis MN 55412
Doors Open 8:30am; 9am-1pm



Twin Cities Prison Ministry 2nd Annual Fund Raiser
Saturday, September 28, 2019 6:30pm
Church of St. Joseph
13900 Biscayne Ave. W. Rosemount MN 55068

Suggested free will donation:
Adults-$10/Children-free (Dessert provided)

Special Performance by Gemstone Revival, from Nashville, will entertain you while you await your up close and personal view of the night sky. Native son, Christopher Connors, brings his band Gemstone Revival, to support Twin Cities Prison Ministry.

Check out this radio cut of “The One” on you tube:

"DAUGHTERS & SONS OF LOVE"
OUR JEWISH BROTHERS AND SISTERS HAVE CREATED AN INSPIRING WAY TO RECOGNIZE GENTILES WHO RISKED EVERYTHING TO HELP JEWS DURING THE "SHOAH" (MOSTLY KNOWN AS THE "HOLOCAUST").

They (Yad Vashem, especially) honor these non-Jews with the title "Righteous among the Nations". ("Gentile" means "the nations outside of the Nation of Israel").

I've long thought we in the Catholic and Orthodox traditions of Christianity -- with their own calendars of canonized saints -- should not neglect the saintly among other denominations, even other faiths and traditions. As of today, non-Catholics are not up for canonization.
Inspired by our Jewish cousins, I suggest we honor those who've exemplified Jesus' key teaching on ἀγάπη or "agapē-love". I suggest the title:

"DAUGHTERS AND SONS OF AGAPE."

To be honored as a "son" or "daughter" in the spiritual sense is to recognize someone exemplifying or embodying something.

Thus, the "Sons of Norway" are honoring their being Norwegian, their celebrating Norwegian culture. The "Son of Man" referenced in the Bible means "human".

Canonized "saints" are most definitely not perfect; St. Jerome was notorious for his anger and ego; St. Paul had issues; St. Francis could be a bit "unusual" in his behavior. Certainly, no saint is perfect. The same standard should apply to "Daughters and Sons of Agapē."

Rev. Martin Luther King; Dr. Albert Schweitzer, Rev. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Susan B. Anthony, the Dalai Lama, Mohandas Gandhi, Sister Florence Nightingale ("Sister" was a title given nurses), Sister Elizabeth Kenny (of the Sister Kenny Institute), Bill WIlson (a founder of AA), Sojourner Truth, and Vasili Arkhipov (Brigade Chief of Staff on submarine B-59 who ignored the Kremlin's order to launch nukes against America in the Cuban Missile Crisis) quickly come to mind.

One Son of Agapē who might not come so quickly to mind is Rev. Martin Niemöller.

Martin Niemöller was a German Lutheran pastor and theologian born in Lippstadt, Germany, in 1892. Niemöller was an anti-Communist and supported Adolf Hitler's rise to power at first. But when Hitler insisted on the supremacy of the state over religion, Niemöller became disillusioned.
He became the leader of a group of German clergymen opposed to Hitler. In 1937, he was arrested and eventually confined in Sachsenhausen and Dachau. (Dachau was a camp for political prisoners; the largest identifiable group within Dachau was Catholic-Christian bishops, priests and monks/brothers.)

Pastor Niemöller was released in 1945 by the Allies. He continued his career in Germany as a minister and as a leading voice of penance and reconciliation for the German people after World War II.

Rev. Martin Niemöller made a very public confession in his speech for the Confessing Church -- a new church formed by dissident Protestant Christians -- in Frankfurt, on January 6, 1946, of which this is a partial translation:

"...the people who were put in the camps then were Communists. Who cared about them? We knew it, it was printed in the newspapers. Who raised their voice, maybe the Confessing Church? We thought: Communists, those opponents of religion, those enemies of Christians - "should I be my brother's keeper?"

"Then they got rid of the sick, the so-called incurables. I remember a conversation I had with a person who claimed to be a Christian. He said: Perhaps it's right, these incurably sick people just cost the state money, they are just a burden to themselves and to others. Isn't it best for all concerned if they are taken out of the middle [of society]? -- Only then did the church as such take note.

"Then we started talking, until our voices were again silenced in public. Can we say, we aren't guilty/responsible?

"The persecution of the Jews, the way we treated the occupied countries, or the things in Greece, in Poland, in Czechoslovakia or in Holland, that were written in the newspapers. … I believe, we Confessing-Church-Christians have every reason to say: mea culpa, mea culpa! We can talk ourselves out of it with the excuse that 'it would have cost me my head if I had spoken out.'
"We preferred to keep silent. We are certainly not without guilt/fault, and I ask myself again and again, what would have happened, if in the year 1933 or 1934 - there must have been a possibility - 14,000 Protestant pastors and all Protestant communities in Germany had defended the truth until their deaths?

"If we had said back then, it is not right when Hermann Göring simply puts 100,000 Communists in the concentration camps, in order to let them die. I can imagine that perhaps 30,000 to 40,000 Protestant Christians would have had their heads cut off, but I can also imagine that we would have rescued 30-40,000 million [sic] people, because that is what it is costing us now."

LIST OF THE "RIGHTEOUS AMONG THE NATIONS":
I LOST MY MOM OVER A YEAR AGO
With her Alzheimers, it came with a little relief mixed in with the grief. With profound sadness when I suddenly and unexpectedly broke down in front of the staff at her Northfield care center.

I shudder thinking what spouses feel with the passing of half of themselves.
My mom's -- really, our mom's -- dying had taken years. Decades, really. And her care had given my dad a sense of purpose after his retirement. Now he is a little lost ... in need of attention himself.

(Two heroes in my world are my sister, Anne, and her husband, Steve. They live next door to my dad's townhome. They go above and beyond looking after him, reminiscent of how generations looked after each other before nursing homes came on the scene. The two, Steve and Anne, even took our dad on a Caribbean cruise the other week! The vacation was hard work.)

Every once and a while, I look at our mom's knitted mittens that once kept her neuropathied hands warmer. And I allow myself to remember our mom before the Alzheimers, before her self-seclusion in our Woodbury home.

And I remember the beautiful mom who talked endlessly to friends on the phone in Hartford City; who played cards with the gang way past my falling asleep at my bedroom door, attempting to watch their reverie; who bandaged me up twice in one hour after rough play on West Commercial Street; who held me in my chicken pox stupor as my siblings tore through their gifts from Santa, Mr. Magoo's Xmas Special's music playing in the background; who orchestrated family boardgame nights at the Faribault farm (our home until the one in Woodbury was finished), complete with Swedish candy as prizes.

I don't try not to cry.

I also don't try to cry.

I just takes time, now and then, to re-embrace the memories of a woman who mom'd me. It's both a sad and a good feeling.

Please take moment to read the following linked article on grief. It's helpful for anyone challenged with grief. You can read the entire article online.

~ Fr. Paul
I Couldn’t Say ‘My Mother’ Without Crying
By  Hope Edelman
Ms. Edelman is the author of “Motherless Daughters.”
Losing a family member at a young age has lasting impacts, well into adulthood. There’s no quick fix for childhood grief.

This month on CNN, Anderson Cooper and Stephen Colbert engaged in a  candid conversation  about the  long-term effects of childhood grief . Mr. Cooper was 10 years old when his father died from a  heart attack . Mr. Colbert also was 10 when his father died in a  plane crash  that also took two of his brothers’ lives. Their early losses, both men agreed, shaped their priorities, their worldviews and the adults they ultimately became.

“I was personally shattered,”  Mr. Colbert recalled . “And then you kind of re-form yourself in this quiet, grieving world that was created in the house.”

CONGRATULATIONS, NORTHSIDE KNIGHTS
You've just been honored with Knights of Columbus's

"COLUMBIAN AWARD"!

The Columbian Award recognizes excellence in a council’s programming and charitable outreach.
ELEVEN HEROES
WHOM I WOULD PERSONALLY LIKE TO SEE RECOGNIZED AS SAINTS, AND WHO ALSO HAVE A MINNESOTA CONNECTION
MONSIGNOR. JOHN A RYAN
"The New Deal Priest" He can assume a huge amount of credit for convincing Catholics Congressmen during the Depression to back FDR's New Deal, and not just Social Security. Without them, it would be no deal. Without Fr. Ryan, there would have been few Catholic political support. Every Minnesotan needs to know his story. He also attended my alma mater, The St. Paul Seminary. A great many Americans --especially workers, the poor and the aged -- owe their lives to him.


MONSIGNOR AUGUSTIN RAVOUX, S.J.
A French Jesuit who was recruited to evangelize among the Indegous Peoples of what is now Minnesota, the Dakotas, and Montona: Dakota and Anishinabe. Unlike many missionaries of his time -- the mid- to late-19th century -- he learned the cultures and local languages, as well as English. He inculturated Christianity into indigenous cultures. He was widely respected by the Orginal Peoples of Minnesota. Declined being made a bishop; a priest's priest. Taught at my alma mater, The St. Paul Seminary.



VENERABLE ARCHBISHOP FULTON SHEEN
The first televangelist, and certainly not of the avarice type. Attended The Saint Paul Seminary in Minnesota before his ordination to the priesthood on September 20, 1919.

PETER HAUSMANN
Knight of Columbus, catechist at St. Joseph's in Rosemount, missionary to Kenya and supporter of churches and schools in Kenya. The hero who, after he himself survived the I-35W Mississippi bridge collapse, went in to save others. Died trying to save a Somali family trapped under water. Was an avid supporter of The St. Paul Seminary.

ARCHBISHOP JOHN IRELAND
A religious as well as civic leader in Saint Paul and Minnesota during the turn of the 20th century. Known for his progressive stance on education, immigration and relations between church and state, as well as his opposition to saloons and political corruption. He promoted the Americanization of Catholicism, especially in the furtherance of progressive social ideals. His ideas anticipated the Second Vatican Council, a leader of the modernizing element in the Catholic Church during the Progressive Era. He created or helped to create many religious and educational institutions in Minnesota, including the University of St. Thomas, The St. Paul Seminary, and St. Catherine University. He also had built one of the largest cathedrals in the country, The Cathedral of St. Paul. 

https://www.stthomas.edu/librari …/ireland/about/johnireland/
VENERABLE SOLANUS CASEY, O.F.M. Cap.
Venerable Solanus Casey -- once a prison guard in the Minnesota State Prison as well as a cable car conductor in Stillwater, MN -- will be recognized as a "Blessed" later this year. He has no connection with The St. Paul Seminary that I know of. : )


SISTER M. GIOVANNI, CSJ
She epitomized the tough but caring sister of Hollywood movies. Every St. Paulite my age and older is very familiar with Sr. Giovanni, who saved an incredible number of lives in St. Paul’s Latino community. It’s a crying shame that more people today don’t know about her. She was a self-sacrificing loving force to be reckoned with, in the community, church and politics. I have no knowledge of any connection with The St. Paul Seminary.






FR. GREG SCHAFFER 
Native of St. Paul, alumnus of The Saint Paul Seminary, and champion of the Indigenous People in Guatemala. 



GIOVANNA D’AGOSTINO 
Better known as “Mama D,” a once living icon of Matthew 25:31 – 40. “…you when I was hungry, you gave me something to eat … when I was thirsty, something to drink ...” A supporter of The St. Paul Seminary.


F R. GODFREY DIECKMANN
A monk of Saint John's Abbey, Fr. Godfrey was a university teacher, theologian, author, editor, mycologist, and had a significant worldwide influence on the Church's liturgical movement, both pre- and post-Vatican II. Fr. Godfrey was one of the U.S. periti (a skilled theologian used as a consultant), at the Second Vatican Council. And, yes, occasional lecturer at The Saint Paul Seminary.


JEAN-BAPTISTE FARIBAULT
Early 19th century French trader with the Dakota and Anishinabe, near Ft. Snelling and along the river highways leading to it. Uncharacteristically for the times, he was understanding, caring, fair, and respectful with regard to the Indigenous Peoples in the area; he was fluent in Dakota. Along with Msgr. Ravoux, he was an evangelist of the faith to the Dakota Nation he effectively joined when he married into it; his wife was half-Dakota.
Okay, let's get working on recognizing their beautiful contributions to the Kingdom.
Who else, with a Minnesota connection, would you recommend?

~ Fr. Paul

P.S. I had considered 17th century explorer and apostle to the Upper Mississippi area: Fr. Louis Hennepin -- who passed by on the Missisippi what would become the site of The Saint Paul Seminary. But in his own writing, he was most disparaging of the Indigenous People he came to evangelize. Then again, he had been held captive for some time before rescuing.

I also considered F. Scott Fitzgerald. But I don't know enough about his life's example to suggest it. Several Facebook friends have also recommended fairly recently departed priests and sisters.Does anyone know if the founder of Project for Pride in Living is still with us?
ARCHBISHOP IRELAND:
A TRUE CATHOLIC-CHRISTIAN AMERICAN HERO

It's beyond me why no one has yet initiated his cause for canonization.

Way more influential than even that other great American Catholic, Holy Fulton Sheen.
2ND ANNUAL “10 DAYS FREE FROM VIOLENCE”
SEPTEMBER 20-29, 2019

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2019 6PM-8PM

LET PEACE & LOVE PREVAIL
Commissioned mural created by BLACKDAZE ( blackdazeart.com ) for Twin Cities Nonviolent’s “10 Days Free From Violence” 3032 Fremont Avenue South, Mpls

The mural will wrap around a garage in Uptown Mpls, and will have artwork including “Peace” and “Love” inscribed in 20 languages
encouraging local, national, & global solidarity. Stories of Peace & Love told around the mural by people of various faiths, a short Peace walk with instruments & singing through Uptown, and a reception following. 

ALL ARE WELCOME & encouraged to bring Hope, your voice, instrument(s), families, & friends!  Let’s make America welcoming again!
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Fr. Paul Jarvis, Senior Associate Pastor - Parish Community of St. Bridget |
612-529-7779