Author: Bruce Ray

Day 04 Devotional & Discussion – March 8, 2014

~ Bruce Ray ~ 4 Comments

John 8:2-11

A woman is caught in the act of adultery.  There are witnesses.  It’s an open and shut case.  And the sentence is clear—death by stoning.  But Jesus doesn’t distribute the stones.  Instead, he advocates for mercy and second chances. 

When have you wanted to pick up stones?  How do you react to Jesus’ treatment of the criminal?  Do you think Jesus would have reacted differently if the person had been a drug dealer?  A burglar?  A man?  An abusive spouse?  How does this passage challenge our system of justice?  What do you think would happen if we treated people this way in our courts? 

There will be no devotional for Sunday, March 9.  Devotionals will resume on Monday, March 10.

Resources to Break the Chains

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The Sentencing Project works to eliminate mandatory sentencing.  Their web site provides excellent data on how inequitable our judicial and correctional systems have become as well as news related to “enfranchinging” ex-offenders.

The Innocence Project and the Northwestern University Law School’s Center on Wrongful Convictions are two organizations working to exonerate those who are wrongfully convicted. Their web sites include the stories of many men and women who were unjustly condemned and imprisoned.  You can also watch stories of wrongful convictions on YouTube

Prison Fellowship International is a global organization advocating for prisoners and their families, the restorative justice model and elimination of the death penalty around the world.  To learn more about Restorative Justice link HERE

CLAIM is  Chicago Legal Advocacy for Incarcerated Mothers and works to redress the damage caused to children due to having their mother removed from them.  They also provide legal educational classes to women who are detained or imprisoned to help them retain their parental rights.

 

Feel free to post resources you know about as a “comment” below.

Day 03 Devotional & Discussion – March 7, 2014

~ Bruce Ray ~ 7 Comments

Genesis 4:1-16

Today’s Scripture is about a cold, calculated murder within the first family.  God takes strong action in response to Cain’s murder of  his brother, banishing him from the land.  However, God does not take his life, but instead places a mark upon him to protect his life.

Would you call God “soft on crime” or a “law and order” God?  How does God’s action toward Cain fulfill justice?  How do you feel about God’s actions toward Cain first in banishing him and then in protecting him?

Day 02 Devotional & Discussion – March 6, 2014

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Genesis 2:16-17, Genesis 3:1-24

The First Infraction….  God established a law–You may not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil–and laid out the consequences–You will die.  Crime and punishment.  And you know the rest of the story: Girl listens to serpent. Girl eats fruit. Girl gives fruit to boy.  Boy eats fruit.  There are consequences.  Yet, there is also mercy.  God makes garments of skin for the couple to clothe them.  Some commentators have suggested that in this act of clothing Adam and Eve, God makes the first animal sacrifice to forgive their transgression, foreshadowing the sacrificial system of the Old Testament and the death of Christ in the new covenant when God will forgive our iniquity and remember their sins no more (Jeremiah 31:34).

We are familiar with crime and punishment in our system of justice.  However, we are less familiar with mercy in the midst of the process of punishment.  In fact, we have shut the door to mercy through mandatory sentencing, “three strikes” laws, zero-tolerance policies (even for 6 year olds) and sentences that conclude with the phrase “without possibility of parole”.

What do you think about God’s fashion statement?  What do you think of a penal system that does not include mercy?

The Church We Were Never Meant To Be – Part 6

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Edited text from Pastor’s Message on March 2, 2014

Emphásis on the Wrong Sylláble  1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Accent marks don’t seem like much, but in many languages an accent mark can change the meaning of the word entirely.  I am attempting to increase my Spanish language skills through an application called Duolingo.  Sometimes, I forget to include an appropriate accent mark when I’m completing a writing assignment and the program will inform me I’ve used the wrong word and deduct points.  ‘El’ means ‘the’; ‘Él’ means ‘he’.  ‘Si’ means ‘yes’; ‘Sí’ means ‘if’.  Or maybe it’s the other way around.  I get confused.  The point is that an accent mark is all it takes to distort communication.  When I put the emphásis on the wrong sylláble, I fail to express myself clearly and I might end up writing something that would be confusing or worse.

The Church at Corinth not only had communication problems (i.e. ‘speaking in tongues’ without interpretation), they were putting the entire congregation at risk by putting excessive emphasis on possessing spiritual gifts.  They loved the gifts–especially the most sensational gifts like “tongues”.  They held certain gifts and their recipients in high regard while minimizing other gifts and reducing their recipients to second class Christians.  They used the gifts to bolster their spiritual status.  The most excellent gifts were their highest priority.  The results of the wrong empháses were harm to relationships and the mission of the church.

It is in this competitive and destructive context that Paul writes, “I will now show you the most excellent way.”  It is not the way of showmanship or boasting or the way of destruction of the body.  It is the way that will result in the common good and the edification of the church.  It is the way of love.  Love must be the priority. 

First Corinthians 13 is one of the most well-known passages of Scripture.  We usually associate it with wedding ceremonies.  In fact, it is so common at marriages that Owen Wilson bet Vince Vaughn in “The Wedding Crashers” that the first reading would be 1 Corinthians 13.  It was.  Vince Vaughn lost.  However, by lifting 1 Corinthians 13 out as if its context within the dysfunctional relationships within the church at Corinth, we miss how important this passage really is.  Paul did not write this beautiful ‘love’ chapter to instruct brides and grooms.  He wrote it to shift the direction of the church at Corinth away from self-centeredness to “body” awareness and mutual edification.

LOVE IS WHAT IT IS ALL ABOUT.  It is not that skills and gifts and abilities aren’t important to the functioning of the church.  They are necessary for the accomplishment of the mission.  But if gifts are used without consideration for the common good, they are only so much noise and worthless.  Gifts and talents and abilities are not given to you for you.  They are given to you for the sake of others.  Love is always about the other.   It is a question of benefit.  Who benefits?  When the gifts are used in love, everyone benefits.  When only the one using the gifts benefits, it is not just unhelpful, it is harmful. 

I work with young children every day.  Children are not born with an awareness of others.  They are completely self-centered and absorbed with their own wants and needs.  Part of our job in early childhood education is to help children to “de-center”.  In this process, children become aware of other children’s feelings, sharing, helping each other and not hurting each other.  It is not a quick and easy process and there are many tantrums and time-outs along the way.  Children want their own way; want their needs met first; want everyone else to pay attention to them.  They have not grown up.  Part of becoming a mature adult is to become unselfish–to live a de-centered life.  Such an adult can appreciate and meet the needs of others; can feel empathy in the face of suffering.  In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul is implying that the church has been stuck in early childhood.  It is time to grow up and become adults.  It is time to de-center and make love the highest priority.

In the church, it is love that sets us apart.  Jesus told his disciples, “By this, all people will know you are my disciples.”  By love.  Not by gifts.  Not by spectacular healings.  Not by speaking unknown languages.  Not by supernatural strength.  Not by intellect.  But by love.  The church God wants us to become, emphasizes the common good, shifting the emphasis from self-interest to the interests of all.  The church built on the foundation of love will seek the welfare of the weakest among them knowing that the health of the weakest will ensure the health of all.   The early church understood this and acted from the beginning to take care of each other’s needs–providing assistance to the poor, eating together, practicing Jubilee.  They acted like a community that sought the common good–not individual glory.  

How different from our culture that emphasis self-actualization, personal fulfillment, individual goals, and selfish pursuits, climbing the ladder of success.  Unfortunately, what we experience daily and what is idealized in our culture tends to walk through the church doors.  The result is a church that acts out of similar priorities with a veneer of spirituality.  Such a church quickly degrades into the church at Corinth.

But there is a more excellent way.  There is Jesus’ way of love.  The results will be a church where everyone is valued, everyone is accepted, everyone is edified and where everyone uses their talents, abilities and spiritual gifts to accomplish the mission to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the world.  And such a church will live out God’s alternative vision for the world–a world where the emphásis is put on the right sylláble–the sylláble of LOVE.

The Church We Were Never Meant To Be–Part 5

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betterEdited Text of Pastor Ray’s message on February 23, 2014

“Body Dysfunctions”  1 Corinthians 12:1-31

I grew up in a church where every Sunday was pretty much the same.  We sang  old hymns.  We read the Bible.  We stood during the (long) congregational prayer.  We sat still and listened to sermons (though I frequently wrote notes to my friends on my bulletin).  And after a closing blessing, we solemnly filed out of the sanctuary.  We all knew what to expect.  But then I went to college and I was introduced to a very different church experience.  There was freedom and excitement and enthusiasm.  People lifted their hands, the music was joyful and sometimes there was even dancing in the aisles.  Sometimes people were healed.  Often, people would speak in tongues that no one seemed to understand–except occasionally when someone would interpret.  And there was no bulletin!  Each week, there was a sense of anticipation and wonder.  One never knew exactly what would happen next.  The experience was liberating for me and I wanted to experience more.  

It was during this time that I was told about the “baptism of the Spirit”.  All the joy and exuberance was because people had been filled with the Spirit.  I wanted it.  So some friends of mine gathered around me, laid hands on me and prayed that I, too, would receive the baptism of the Spirit.  We waited.  We continued to pray that God’s spirit would fall.  We waited some more.  We were waiting for me to receive the evidence that our prayers were answered.  I was supposed to speak in tongues.  I didn’t.  I wanted to.  I was told that I needed “just let it happen.”  Honestly, I tried.  I followed all their instructions.  I babbled to “prime the pump.”  Nothing happened.  I needed to persevere.  I persevered.  Still nothing happened.

Since I didn’t receive the gift of tongues, and God says, “ask and you shall receive,” obviously something had to be wrong with me.  Maybe, I didn’t have enough faith.  Maybe I was blocking the movement of the Spirit as a result of some sin.  I confessed every sin I could think of.  I read the Bible cover to cover so I would better know God’s will.  I learned all I could about the gifts of the Spirit.  I prayed–hard.  I still didn’t speak in tongues.  Though no one said it, I felt like a second-class Christian.  There were other gifts of the Spirit, but speaking in tongues was THE evidence I expected.  It was the evidence that everyone else around me expected.  It was the one gift above all others that mattered; that made my infilling of the Spirit valid.  

Now that I have matured in my walk in the Spirit, I realize how dysfunctional my college experience had been.  Because there was so much focus on what I had not received, no one could appreciate what I had received–gifts that ultimately propelled me into pastoral ministry and prepared me to help others on their spiritual journey.  The problem was not that people were speaking in tongues–a legitimate expression of the Spirit’s presence in person’s life, but that speaking in tongues was held up as the only legitimate expression of the Spirit’s presence and as the pinnacle of personal spirituality.  Along the way I discovered that God had much more to say about spiritual fruit as evidence of the Sprit’s presence.  An over-emphasis on spiritual gifts–especially elevating one gift above all others–was evidence, not of spiritual maturity but of spiritual dysfunction. 

The church at Corinth exemplified this very dysfunction. They too were exalting one gift over all others and were minimizing the other manifestations of the Spirit.  And they were minimizing those members of the church that did not show evidence of greatest spiritual gift–the gift of speaking in tongues—especially “angelic tongues”.   Those who spoke in tongues were more spiritual than those who did not.  Those who did not speak in tongues were inconsequential and unnecessary.  Possession of THE gift led to spiritual pride and social arrogance.  They might as have well worn “I’m better than you” buttons.

Such dysfunction ultimately destroys the church and prevents it from fulfilling its God-given mission.  Paul writes to clarify in no uncertain terms that there are MANY spiritual gifts from God and ALL gifts are necessary to the healthy function of the church.  AND the Spirit distributes the gifts not on the basis of some maturity hierarchy, but as the Spirit wills.  Not every member will be a prophet.  Not every member will speak in tongues.  (Why hadn’t my college friends read that to me?)  Not every member will have the ability to heal.  Therefore, we need each other and the full range of spiritual gifts. 

There is unity within the body of Christ, for we are all baptized by the Spirit into one body, but that does not require uniformity.  In fact, it requires many parts.  To illustrate his point, Paul used the analogy of the human body–a single body made up of many parts–some visible, some protected inside the body, some covered out of modesty, some seemingly inconsequential.  However, ALL parts are indeed needed.  To exalt one gift or one calling or one perspective over all others will only result in spiritual disability. To denigrate certain parts just because they are not visible or because they are small; to say to any part, “I don’t need you,” is the height of arrogance.  

Their hierarchical understanding about spiritual gifts had also led them to a hierarchical attitude toward those who possessed the lesser gifts.  The church had once again divided itself into a group of “haves” (they have the gift) and the “have-nots” (they have not the gift).  This was beyond social class structure–another issue in the church.  Now the church was creating a spiritual class structure!  And the “haves” had little concern about the well-being of the “have-nots”.  

The purpose of spiritual gifts–all the gifts–is for the upbuilding of the entire church.  It is for the common good.  Mutual edification can only occur in an atmosphere of humility and love (the more excellent way of 1 Corinthians 13).  For the common good to flourish, we must treat each other as though they are God’s gift to us.

The church that God means for us to be is a church that values diversity of gifts and diversity of people demonstrated through respect, mutual care and equality.   Unfortunately, many churches, while giving lip service to diversity, have actually pursued segregation.  One of the foundational principles of the Church Growth Movement is that churches can only grow in homogeneous groupings of people.  In a book entitled, Our Kind of People, C. Peter Wager wrote, “men like to become Christians without crossing racial, linguistic or class barriers”.  Therefore, segregated churches based on socio-economics, education, race, language, generation and even spiritual gifts have been (and continue to be) planted throughout America.  Rather than the church embracing diversity and the gifts of different cultures, experiences and perspectives, the church has chosen instead to organize itself on the principle of “separate but equal” (which is never truly equal) and on the de facto statement, “I don’t need you.”  This structure has resulted in mega-churches and mega-church wannabes that have little power to challenge the status quo.  And because the body of Christ is not engaging the gifts of all the members, the result is a church that has actually lost its voice.  We can hardly speak about systemic injustice when our own systems mirror the injustice.

The church needs a reformation which affirms the need for all gifts, experiences and perspectives.  The church needs to make new choices about welcome and inclusion.  The church needs a structure that allows for those of “lesser gifts” to do their part with great respect and honor.  While diversity of people and gifts within a denomination or a local church is challenging, it is what God desires.  Isn’t that why God gave us the Spirit in the first place–to empower us to do God’s will in the world and to be God’s witnesses across all lines of division?

 

Day 01 Devotional & Discussion – March 5, 2014

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Psalm 51:1-12, Psalm 32:1-5

Today is “Ash Wednesday” –a time when Christians around the world receive a mark of ashes in the shape of a cross on their foreheads as a symbol of their repentance and contrition in preparation for our journey of following Jesus to the cross.  The mark quickly fades, reminding us that our sins have been removed by the grace of God through Christ and that we have been restored to God and made full members of God’s new community.

Today is also the day we embark on our “fast for freedom” to break the chains of injustice.  On this day, we are also reminded that millions of people in the United States have been given a mark due to an infraction of the law.  They are FELONS–a label that will follow them the rest of their lives.  While our mark of ashes reminds us of forgiveness, their mark remains and reminds them that they will never again be able to participate fully in the life of the community.  The mark will keep them from employment, government educational loans, SNAP benefits, public housing, professional licenses and even the right to vote.

While we rejoice in the grace of God, we must also grieve that we live in a country that fails to show mercy and fails to restore those who have “paid their debt to society.”

To draw attention to this failure to restore brothers and sisters to the community, many of us are choosing to wear black armbands today to show our solidarity with the felon and to call the church and the nation to restorative justice–not punishment that never ends.

Kimball Avenue Church “Lenten Compact”

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Each year during Lent, Kimball Avenue Church in Chicago and friends around the country embark on a 40-day “Lenten Compact” to help us better understand the heart of God in relationship to injustice and oppression.  A “Compact” is a covenantal agreement among a group of people. Those who voluntarily enter a compact bind themselves to a set of guidelines and standards for the purpose of accomplishing personal and corporate goals.

Lent is often considered a personal time to fast, focus ourselves on God, and reflect on the idols that we have been told we cannot live without. Like each Lenten season, we are calling for a communal fast that focuses us not only on our relationship to God, but also on our relationship to our neighbors—especially our brothers and sisters who are suffering from oppression and injustice.  We are calling our church to a true fast – one that is not just the act of denying oneself of something – but a fast that creates justice and reconciliation.

In Isaiah 58, specifically verses 6-7, the Lord makes clear what a true fast should accomplish:

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?”

To learn more about this year’s Compact, “Fast For Freedom: Breaking the Chains of Injustice”, link to the 2014 Compact page.  The daily pages provide a Scripture, questions for reflection and resources on the topic of our broken correctional system  that incarcerates Americans at unprecedented rates and prohibits those coming out of the system from full restoration into the community.  We encourage you to post your comments on the daily pages and interact with others that are fasting for freedom.

For more information about Kimball Avenue Church, visit our web site.

2014 Compact

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black-men-jail

“Fasting for Freedom: Breaking the Chains of Injustice”

Why a “Compact” for Freedom?

Our correctional system is broken.  Crime rates in the US are at historic lows, yet according to the International Centre for Prison Studies, we incarcerate a higher percentage of our citizens than any other nation—with the possible exception of North Korea.  In 2012 (the most recent available data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics), there were 6.9 million American adults (2.9 % of the population) under the supervision of the correctional system with over 2 million in prisons. (By comparison, only 500,000 people were incarcerated in 1980).  In addition, over 61,000 juveniles are under correctional supervision, and thousands of undocumented immigrants are held in detention centers due to immigration violations.

The exponential rise in the number of incarcerated adults is the direct result of the “War on Drugs” begun under President Ronald Reagan and continued into our current administration.  Though drug use is evenly divided between whites and people of color, the “War On Drugs” has most dramatically impacted poor communities and communities of color as it targeted certain drugs such as crack cocaine more aggressively than other types of drugs.  Coupled with mandated minimum sentences for drug convictions and harsh “three strike” laws, the number of incarcerated adults has quadrupled. Currently, more than half of the people in federal prisons were convicted of non-violent drug related crimes.

Sixty percent of the adults who are serving prison time are poorly educated people of color—African Americans (39%) and Latinos (21%).   According to research done by The Sentencing Project, a full 34% of African American males and 17% of Latino males will be imprisoned at some point in their lives.  In comparison, only 6% of white males will experience incarceration. 

Because politicians have learned that being perceived as “soft on crime” limits their electability, they have been hesitant to advocate for changes in sentencing laws, early release programs and an end to the War on Drugs.  Even recent attempts by the Justice Department to curtail mandatory sentences have been met with stiff opposition.  Though crime rates have dropped, the public continues to believe that crime is increasing and demands that their communities do more to ensure “law and order”.   This is due in large part to the sensationalism of crime that drives our news and entertainment media.

The current trend of “privatizing” our prisons has only made the issue of mass incarceration more intractable.  Private prison companies usually require a “bed quota” in their contracts with state governments.  In many small rural communities desperate for jobs and where an increasing number of these prisons are located, the corrections system is the primary employer—fueling a subconscious desire to keep prisons filled to capacity. 

Incarceration impacts people and communities long after a person is released from prison.  Those with federal felony convictions are barred from many employment opportunities, lose their right to vote, are prohibited from applying for education loans or SNAP benefits, and are banned from public housing.  Though access to jobs following incarceration is key to preventing recidivism, almost all employment applications include “the box”.  Applicants must answer the question, “Have you ever been convicted of a crime?”  Checking the box often guarantees denial of employment.  Once a felon, always a felon.  There is no forgiveness.  There is no restoration.

We do not believe that a justice system that is designed to incarcerate people at unprecedented rates and perpetually punish people (for any reason) mirrors God’s kingdom values of grace and mercy, forgiveness, reconciliation and restoration.

God is concerned about those who are imprisoned.  While God is not “soft on crime”—the Old Testament Law is filled with categories of “criminal behavior” and prescribed sentences—God again and again exhibits mercy and grace toward the lawbreaker.  Through Jesus Christ, God creates ample space for forgiveness and restoration.  A person may be penalized due to behavior that is damaging to the community, but there are actions one can take to make restitution and be received back into full participation in the community.  Jesus takes on the Messianic mission (Luke 4:18-19), which includes “proclaiming freedom for the prisoner” and announced blessing for those who cared for ‘the least of these’ while they were in prison (Matthew 25:36).  We believe that caring for the prisoner includes assisting with their successful re-entry into the life of the community and re

moving the barriers to full participation in the life of the community.  We are called to proclaim freedom for the prisoner and prophetically call our leaders to acting fairly in setting policies around our correctional system from the courts to the prisons to treatment of people upon release.

STARTING WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5th, 2014, AND CONTINUING THROUGH GOOD FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 2014, we will FAST to BREAK THE CHAINS OF INJUSTICE

 We ask all participants to take the following action:

WEAR A BLACK ARMBAND EACH DAY DURING LENT TO SHOW OUR SOLIDARITY WITH THOSE WHO ARE OR HAVE BEEN INCARCERATED. 

(Participants at Kimball Avenue Church will also have the option of wearing a ‘Compact’ button)

Why Wear An Armband or Button?  Black armbands have historically been used to express grief, protest and solidarity.  We encourage you to wear one throughout lent (or on Ash Wednesday and each day during Holy Week) to show your grief that our correctional system is broken, to protest the policies that keep people bound in chains of injustice long after they are released from prison and to show solidarity with those who are or have been incarcerated.  The Compact Button  reads, “I was in prison, and you…” as a way to remind yourself of Jesus’ call to minister to those who are in prison as if he were in prison while also making a public statement about your commitment to breaking the chains. 

Additional Ways to Participate in our Fast For Freedom  To make this Compact even more meaningful, we encourage you to take these additional action steps to break the yoke of oppression:

“Do Time” in the Word

  • Each day, a Scripture related to crime, punishment, grace and/or restoration along with a question or two to help you reflect on the passage will be posted on this site.  We encourage you to make comments and interact with others about the daily Scripture.

Get Educated

  • Read a book.  Some of us have already read, The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander.  If you haven’t read it, do so during Lent.  (Several copies will be available at the church.)  Consider reading Dr. Becky Pettit’s book, Invisible Men: Mass Incarceration and the Myth of Black Progress.  A list of additional books, online blogs and resources will be made available throughout Lent.
  • Participants from Kimball Avenue Church are also encouraged to attend an informational meeting on Mass Incarceration on Saturday, March 22, at 2 pm at the Logan Square Library with others from the community.  Leslie Willis and others will be presenting information about the impacts of imprisonment. 

Watch Movies

  • Through Lent, we encourage you to watch movies related to our broken justice system.  See below for suggestions.
  • Participants from Kimball Avenue Church will have the opportunity to see “Kids For Cash” a movie about the bribes in exchange for juvenile offenders scandal in Pennsylvania on March 8.  We will also screen “Corrections”, a look at the return of the private prison, on March 29, and “The House I Live In” which documents the impact of incarceration on individuals, families and communities in early April. 

Act with FORCE

  • The FORCE project in Chicago has been instrumental in helping to pass legislation that allows individuals with non-violent convictions to seal their records which will enable them to access jobs more easily.  However, there is lots of work to be done.  Employment applications still include “the box” and people with records are routinely denied employment.  FORCE is currently boycotting Walgreens for it’s discriminatory hiring practices.  We encourage you to join the boycott of Walgreens during Lent.
  • On Sunday, March 23, Marlon Chamberlain, a FORCE project representative, will be the guest at Kimball Avenue Church.  He will help us to understand how we can take action to support efforts to expand the sealing bill and make our boycott of Walgreens more impactful.

Support Prisoners and the Wrongly Convicted

  • If you live outside of Illinois, you can contact your county sheriff’s office to see if there are opportunities to visit prisoners.  Most county jails have a chaplain’s office.  In addition, we encourage you to fast at least once a week to show solidarity with the hundreds of prisoners across the country who have engaged in hunger strikes to protest conditions.
  • If you live in Illinois, we encourage you to take the following additional actions to support prisoners.
  1. There are no “prisons” in Chicago.  However, there are locations such as Cook County Jail were people are kept under guard as they await hearings or trials.  Another location is the Broadview Detention Center, which holds undocumented immigrants awaiting hearings and deportation to their home country.  Every Friday at 7:15 am, we encourage you to join members of faith communities at 1930 Beach St. in Broadview to pray for the detainees, for their families and for comprehensive immigration reform.  
  2. In addition to fasting once a week to show solidarity with those who are on a hunger strike at Menard Correctional Center in Chester, IL, support them by contacting those in authority to listen to their concerns and remove them from isolation.  Call or write Warden Rick Harrington, (618) 826-5071, P.O. Box 711, Menard IL 62259, Illinois Department of Corrections Director Salvador Godinez, (217) 558-2200, ext. 2008, P.O. Box 19277, Springfield IL 62794-9277 and Gov. Pat Quinn, (217) 782-0244, 207 State House, Springfield, IL  62706
  3. Between 1972 and 1991, hundreds of Chicagoans of color were routinely tortured under the authorization of Police Commander Jon Burge to extract confessions that would later be used against them in their prosecution.  While the mayor has acknowledged the torture and apologized for it, the city spent $20,000,000 defending Burge and others in court.  On October 13, 2013, an ordinance was introduced to the City Council that would provide financial reparations to the victims of torture and coercion under Burge and his detectives—many of whom still suffer trauma from the experience.  Throughout Lent, support this ordinance by calling your alderman and Mayor Emmanuel to make sure it passes to right the wrongs of the past.  You can also sign an online petition asking for passage of the ordinance at http://www.change.org/petitions/pass-the-ordinance-seeking-reparations-for-the-chicago-police-torture-survivors.

Help Others Get Convicted

  • Share this Compact with your network of friends and family.  Consider posting a link on your Facebook page to the this site or emailing a copy of the Compact to your contacts.  The more people who are convicted by the injustice of our justice and correctional system, the more likely there will be change.  First a change of heart; then a change in policy. 

While the Compact will end at Easter, it is our hope that “breaking the chains of injustice” will become your Kingdom lifestyle