UU Prison Ministry Team

Mission and Goals

The UCE Prison Ministry Team works with the larger Unitarian Universalist Prison Ministry of Illinois (UUPMI) mission "to transform institutions and support people harmed by the prison industrial complex." Our group focuses on working directly with those currently incarcerated and awaiting trial, those imprisoned, and those recently released. We also advocate for policy changes to reform the Illinois criminal justice system, such as the recently passed HB3653, making Illinois the first state to end cash bail starting in 2023. We strive to provide a nurturing space for our beloved UCE congregants who engage in these life-changing conversations to learn more about institutional racism, grow in cultural humility, and live our Principles.

We have a long-term goal to develop a culture of accountability without punishment for our faith community and beyond, bringing us closer to the abolition of prisons and policing, which impose physical, mental, and community harm.

Programs of the UU Prison Ministry Team

Penpals – People in prison often identify isolation as the most debilitating part of a prison sentence and consistent correspondence can offer much more than emotional support. When an incarcerated person receives mail, it indicates to the guards and other people in custody that someone outside is paying attention and cares about that person. It has a tangible impact on reducing violence and harassment. Through correspondence, you are able to connect the person inside with the world outside and help link them to resources, education and community support not accessible in prison.

Training and continued support is provided by UUPMI. The recommended level of commitment is sending a letter bi-weekly for a minimum of one year.
Solidarity Circles – Patterned after indigenous Indian Council Circles and similar indigenous practices worldwide, Solidarity Circles provide a space for our congregants to engage in a community of commitment and support with someone returning from prison.  The concept of Solidarity Circles is borne of experience and research affirming that individuals returning from being locked up in prison or jail know best what they need and that they benefit from having several communities of support through the arduous process of putting their lives back together, often with very limited resources and within a system that all but ensures recidivism.

A Solidarity Circle is a community of support of 4-8 people, typically meeting once or twice per month. The returning individual knows best what they need, thus they are the leader of their Solidarity Circle. Walking in solidarity with individuals recently returning from prison is a powerful form of engagement and growth for all involved.

UUPMI offers training, orientation, continued education, and support to all circle members.

UUPMI has adopted a Memorandum of Understanding with Safer Foundation in which UUPMI will refer returning people to the Safer Foundation's training, employment and legal services, and Safer Foundation will offer the Solidarity Circles program to their clients as congregations have sufficient volunteers to support new Solidarity Circles.
Talking Circles – Before the pandemic, our UU Prison Ministry Team members served as circle keepers and circle members in Cook County Jail and Logan Correctional Center using a curriculum designed by UUPMI ministers with substantial support from individuals where were formerly incarcerated. These Talking Circles are on hiatus until correctional centers re-open to programs from the community.
Legislative Advocacy – We work with UU Prison Ministry of Illinois to advocate for policy changes in Illinois related to prisons. This includes setting strict limits on the use of solitary confinement, reforming bail/bond system, and allowing those recently released more access to job and housing opportunities.
Housing Advocacy through Connections for the Homeless – Our UU Prison Ministry Team is working with Connections for the Homeless to lead and provide space for a talking circle for clients of Connections. See other opportunities for volunteering with Connections in the News & Updates section below.

Resources

Connect with Unitarian Universalist Prison Ministry of Illinois (UUPMI) on Facebook.
Learn more about UUPMI from their website.

News & Updates UU Prison Ministry Team

Carceral Systems and Siding with Love Workshop: September 10, 2021

UU Prison Ministry of Illinois, REAL, and the UCE Prison Ministry team invite you to join us for the last two sessions of Carceral Systems and Siding with Love.

How do we actively side with Love in the face of harmful carceral systems that especially target black and brown people? We will welcome nationally known advocate Joyce MacMillan on Family Separation and Surveillance on October 21. On November 4 we will discuss the Basics of Restorative Justice. Registration is required, and a short reading or video will be emailed to you one week before each session. The last of these 90-minute Zoom workshops is on November 4.

Thursday, November 4, 7:00-8:30 p.m.: Basics of Restorative Justice

What is the framework for restorative or transformative justice and how is it different from the criminal legal system? How do restorative justice community courts work? What other models to address harm are being developed?

We hope you will join us! Please register here for any or all of these workshops.

Past Sessions:

Thursday, September 23, 7:00-8:30 p.m.: Policing

Why do activists make the call to “Defund Police”, and what do they mean by this? What is the impact of spending a large percentage of local budgets on police while disinvesting in low-income neighborhoods? What other approaches are being tried?

Thursday, October 7, 7:00-8:30 p.m.: Prisons

What are the dynamics and history that brought this country to mass incarceration? What is the impact of prisons on individuals and communities? Does prison make us safe?

Thursday, October 21, 7:00-8:30 p.m.: Family Separation and Surveillance

How does the foster care-to-prison pipeline affect poor communities of color? What is the history of child removal? What assistance is available for families when poverty creates less than ideal conditions? What remedies are anti-racist activists suggesting?

By UCE UCE|September 9th, 2021|Categories: Prison Ministry, Racial-equality|0 Comments

Urgent Need for Lunches: May 28, 2021

Connections for the Homeless provides sack lunches at three locations in Evanston, Monday through Friday, year round. Volunteer sign-ups are not keeping up with the need right now. If you have been thinking about trying this, NOW is the time.

For everyone who has been contributing to this effort since last October, Bravo! – and a great big Thank You! This is a very satisfying project that can be done by volunteers who want to help, but need to avoid close contact with the public. It can be done by one person, or you can get together with a partner to share the tasks (and fun – put on the music while you make sandwiches).

How do you get started?

Choose a day (Mon. through Fri.) from the calendar on the Connections website, Connect2home.org Go to ‘volunteer’, ‘make bag lunches’, ‘sign up to prepare bag lunches to one of our locations’. This is also where you choose the location you prefer.
Email Maggie Weiss to let her know the date and location you have chosen. msmaggie6@comcast.net
Pick up a bag with nonperishable components of 25 lunches from Carol Nielsen. This will contain juices, granola bars, condiments and individual bags for sandwiches and lunches. carolnielsen2100@gmail.com

Then, you buy the fresh items you will use in your lunches – bread, meat, and cheese to make sandwiches, and fresh fruit. We will pay for the non-perishables; you will pay for the fresh foods. We have found the best prices at ALDI, but shop wherever you choose. The cost of fresh foods for one lunch is about $1.54, so you can do 25 lunches for $40-$45.

Need coaching? Please contact Sheila Holder at skholder8@gmail.com

Thanks for all you do,

Carol Nielsen, Maggie Weiss, Sheila Holder