Dear Friends and Supporters
Thank you for your engagement with the CCJC, in what ever form that takes. Perhaps you belong to one of our member churches, support us through a financial donation, or touch base with us regularly on our facebook page. However you link up, your interest in the work we do around restorative justice is welcome. Furthering the understanding of restorative justice in Canada is at the core of CCJC.
Many years ago, (too many now to remember) I began visiting the Federal Prison in Cowansville as a volunteer with the Chaplaincy Program. My experiences inside have been some of the most important of my life. The question most often put to me is “what do you do in there?” Prison volunteers are a life line for inmates. We are a link to the world outside, a tangible human presence of the community that awaits them upon their release. The chapel circle we create every week brings inmates together who long for the spiritual community of fellow christians. Our simple circle of chairs filled by volunteers from the outside and inmates, creates a sacred space for fellowship and worship. Into that circle comes the power of redemptive love and transformation, and through the word comes the potential for healing and new life. Hearing the gospel in prison brings into a sharper focus the power of the spirit that calls us into a right relationship with one another, and all of creation.
Covid has affected the prison community in very tangible ways. We can clearly see how our current system of incarceration can have devastating effects on public health when viruses start to circulate. Social distancing is impossible in the prison setting. Being involved in CCJC as a board member has brought me to a deeper understanding of the power of restorative justice. It has given me an awareness of the worldwide community of partners who work, as we do, for restorative justice to be made known in every corner of the justice system. Thank you again for your support and your interest in CCJC. Thank you for walking with us.
Pamela Dillon
President
Church Council on Justice and Corrections