Sunday, October 31, 2010

Project RETURN 30th Anniversary

Last night I had the distinct honor of attending the 30th anniversary of Project RETURN, a Milwaukee organization dedicated to meeting the needs of offenders and their families. How exciting to be in a roomful of (150 plus) people who are dedicated to prison ministry and aftercare. This amazing group has been serving the Milwaukee area for 30 years with job readiness and training, resume preparation, job placement, support groups, and housing assistance.

The keynote speaker at this event was Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States and The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions. Excellent reading. I highly recommend them.

Sister Prejean is a dynamic speaker who captivated the audience with stories about her work with death row inmates and her devotion to educating people about the reality of state executions. She posed the question, "Is God a vengeful God who demands death for death or is He a God of compassion?"
Prior to the evening's program, I had the opportunity to speak with Sister Prejean about her work, and my up coming book The Women of Block 12. She agreed to pose with me for this photo (actually many photos before we got one that was acceptable) and I must say she has a lot of patience and a great sense of humor. Thank you Sister for an wonderful and enlightening experience.

Watch for Sister Prejean's forthcoming book: River of Fire: My Spiritual Journey.

My thanks to Jack & Kathleen Congleton for an evening of fun and friendship with two people who enthusiastically support my project.

Thank you, Bill Lange, President, Board of Directors, Project RETURN for the invitation to this wonderful event and for your enthusiastic review of The Women Of Block 12!

For more information on jail and prison ministry visit:
http://TheWomenOfBlock12.com.

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1 comment:

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