prison ministry
An Appeal for Prison Ministers Everywhere
Editor’s Note: Lay missioner Mari Snyder describes her experience serving in prison ministry and encourages others to perform this corporal act of mercy. I’ll miss climbing up into Norma’s white pickup truck and heading north 7.5 miles, speaking with my friend in my best “slow and halting” Spanish. We can stop shielding our eyes from…
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Joy Incarcerated
Editor’s note:Missioner Catherine Sullivan offers a photo essay that is a window into a special day in her prison ministry–her goddaughter Michelle’s baptismal presentation. [unitegallery CHS717] Reflection question: Often light shines the brightest through the darkness. Where can you find light in your hardships?
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To Choose Neither
Editor’s note: Missioner Catherine Sullivan shares a poem juxtaposing the societal norms of the US and the societal norms she experiences throughout her time on mission and her ministry in the Bolivian prisons. These lives continue to baffle me. They are lives lived entirely for others …
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Were You There: Stumbling and Rising
Editor’s note: In a follow-up to his post Libre Soy, recently-returned missioner Jeff Sved reflects on how he sees Christ’s struggles and stumbles on the Way of the Cross reflected in the lives of the friends and inmates with whom he served throughout his ministry. Were you there when Jesus stumbled for the first time?…
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A Buzz of Excitement in the Prison
Editor’s Note: Missioner Catherine Sullivan shares her experience of the visit of the Virgen María de Urkupiña statue in one of the prisons in Cochabamba, Bolivia. A few weeks ago, my morning began the same way it usually does – I walked through the large green metal doors of the women’s prison, said good morning…
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Mileage, Motivation, and Ministry
Editor’s note: During Pittsburgh native Jeff Sved’s visit to the US he plans to run his first full marathon in May. In the last post, he answered questions about training for a marathon while in Bolivia. Today, he talks about he got into running in the first place. What do you like about running and how did…
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Marathon Training on Mission
Editor’s note: As fourth-year missioner Jeff Sved prepares for the May 1 Pittsburgh Marathon, he answers some frequently asked questions about his training. Jeff is currently serving in three prisons in Cochabamba, Bolivia, and hopes his participation in the marathon can raise awareness about how the prison rehabilitation system should be focusing on restoring relationships…
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Letting Go of Desensitization
Editor’s Note: Missioner Jeff Sved reflects on the implications of the cross and its significance in today’s world. Today, Christians worldwide remember the death of Jesus. But let us not remove this execution from its context. Have we become so used to the “glorified crucifixion” that we fail to remember that Jesus was historically the most-famous…
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Letting Go of Biases and Assumptions
Editor’s Note: Missioner Jeff Sved shares how his views of the penal system have drastically changed since he first arrived in Bolivia and during his time involved with prison ministry. When I first entered a prison in the fall of 2011, I could not imagine the effect it would have on the next few (and…
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Comfort and Joy: The Cyclical Process
Editor’s note: As part of our “Comfort and Joy” Advent/Christmas blog series, missioner Jeff Sved shares how his experiences of prison ministry in Bolivia have shown him how comfort and joy are often fruits of initial discomfort. Francis – brother, not pope – is quite a remarkable example when it comes to the relationship between comfort and joy. What…
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Weekend Recap: Expo ReIncorpora
Editor’s Note: Missioner Jeff Sved shares a recent event from his time of prison ministry in Bolivia. Expo ReIncorpora: 1st Feria Productiva de Recintos Penitenciaria (The first annual fair/expo of products made within the prisons.) To say this weekend was a success would be an understatement. Opportunities to sell goods other than inside the prison or at the…
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Prisoners doing Prison Ministry, Wait…What?
It was an interesting day at prison. I came as I usually do on Thursday morning to facilitate the faith-sharing group I helped to start last August. It’s been one full year since the day I decided to take the leap of faith. I saw the need for this group and there was a lot…
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There’s More – Committing to a Fourth Year
It is official: I am extending my contract to stay in Bolivia for a fourth and final year. With this decision, I have a sense of excitement and joy… as well as a bit of relief. In my discernment, I had my pros for staying in Bolivia and my pros for returning to the U.S.…
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Bagels of Love
I love the food here in Bolivia. Cochabamba in particular is known for its food. There are however, a few foods I miss from the US. It’ll be some time before my next Philly Cheesesteak; hamburgers here leave a lot to be desired; and the closest I can come to a Primanti’s sandwich is trancapecho.…
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Making do
The second week of April we celebrated two confirmations in my parish. Obviously the ideal misa for confirmations and baptisms is the Easter Vigil, but in my parish we often work with what is less than ideal. My parish community is a group of around 40 men who are currently inmates in El Penal de San…
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Libre Soy
Editor’s Note: The name of the individual involved has been changed. During my first year in Bolivia, I was visiting a group of inmates in Hospital Viedma when I met Jose. He had been sent from the prison to the hospital to receive treatment for TB and to prevent an outbreak in the prison. After…
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Happy two year anniversary to Jeff!
Editor’s Note: Also pictured in the featured photo is fellow FMS class 28 lay missioner Annemarie Barrett. Jeff Sved is beginning his third year serving in Bolivia this January. Working with many prisons in the Cochabamba area to ensure the inmates are receiving spiritual guidance and materials to make goods to sell for an income,…
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Happy one year anniversary to Hady!
Editor’s Note: Also pictured in featured image is Maryknoll lay missioner Caitlin. One year ago this moth, Hady Mendez, of FMS’ 29th class of missioners, arrived in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Since then, Hady had used her time work with Manos Con Libertad to help women in prison to better their spiritual life and their financial situation,…
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Friendly Support
“One day more means one day less.” This is something my girls at prison say. It’s sort of an inside joke. Once I understood what it meant, I got to thinking, “Shoot, sometimes I feel the same way when I’m homesick.” In the same way, I too have “time to complete” before I can go…
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Reality Strikes
Editor’s Note: The following is part of our daily holiday series celebrating “The Shared World.” As part of his ministry, Jeff works alongside the work delegates in the different prisons to coordinate material purchases and machinery upkeep for the inmates’ workshops. Through his relationships with the artisans and leather workers, he also works as one of their…
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Prison Ministry – It’s No Joke
My family and friends laugh at me when I say,“ Talk to you later. I gotta go to jail,” “It sounds funny,” they tell me. But for me it’s the most natural thing in the world. It’s what I do. I started prison ministry roughly six months ago. When I first started going to jail,…
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Cutting Down Barriers and Stereotypes
Lay missioner Valerie Ellis talks about an experience she had connecting with a woman in a Bolivian prison. When I heard that women in jail in Cochabamba earn credits by cutting hair in their peluqueria (hair salon), I knew I had to go. Not only do they have the opportunity to get out of jail…
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Bridge-Building in Bolivia
Lay missioner Hady Mendez answers one of the questions mostly frequently asked of a missioner: “What do you do in Bolivia?” I build bridges. No, not the kind people walk on or cars drive across. I build other types of bridges. Another way to describe what I do is “bring people together”. It’s not actually…
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Mission Monday: A Third Year of Service for Annemarie and Jeff!
Today’s post features an exciting update about two current missioners in Cochabamba! Great news: second-year missioners Annemarie Barrett and Jeff Sved have each decided to stay in Bolivia for a third year of mission! When our lay missioners are commissioned, they agree to a minimum of two years of service, but they can renew their…
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Visiting Christ the Prisoner: “Council”
Editor’s Note: This is Part III in a series called “Visiting Christ the Prisoner: A Look into Prison Ministry in Bolivia”. Read Part I and Part II. Each of the six prisons are unique, but in each of them inmates govern themselves with an elected system of delegates who oversee various parts of the prison society.…
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Visiting Christ the Prisoner: “Plantas”
Editor’s Note: This is Part I a series called “Visiting Christ the Prisoner: A Look into Prison Ministry in Bolivia”. Read Part II and Part III. Jeff shares a story of his time in El Penal de San Sebastián. Home to 800-900 men along with their wives and children, San Sebastián is one of the six prisons that Jeff regularly…
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Mission Monday: A Look Into Bolivia’s Prison System
Each week, lay missioner Jeff Sved visits six prisons in Cochabamba, Bolivia, through his ministry with Pastoral Penitenciaria, an organization looking out for the basic needs of those in Bolivian prisons. Here is something he has observed during his visits. “Lo único que pedimos es que cumplan lo que manda la ley” “All that we…
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Franciscan Friday: Learning about Humility In the Strangest Ways
Lay missioner Jeff Sved tells a story of purchasing food for the prison kitchen in Cochabamba, Bolivia. “Cabeza de baca…” “Wait a second! You want me to buy cow heads?” The head delegate of one of the prisons here was actually asking us to go out and buy cow heads. I guess when you’re cooking…
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Mission Monday: The Value of Relationships
First-year lay missioner Jeff Sved sends an update from his time in Bolivia: At the recent Asamblea Nacional del Movimiento Franciscano “Justicia y Paz” Bolivia, I was blessed with the opportunity to enjoy la fraternidad (fraternity) within the Franciscan family throughout Bolivia. Jeff (center) dancing at the Asemblea Nacional del Movmiento Francisco Forty representatives came…
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Mission Monday: Navigating the Market
Missioner Jeff Sved shares an update from Cochabamba, Bolivia where he’s learning that a busy outdoor market can look very different from the vendor’s point of view… As part of my normal Saturday routine (or as much of a “normal” routine as is possible), I spend the afternoon in the Cancha buying our week’s worth…
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