|
MEN'S JAIL MINISTRY
Since the Spring of 2004, a team of FCC men have worked together to offer a weekly service of communion and spiritual support at the Santa Cruz County Jail on Water Street. Every Tuesday afternoon, we arrive at the jail and are escorted to a program area where we meet with anywhere from 6 to 20 inmates.
Our service includes a lot of prayer and music. Several of our teammates play musical instruments and often bring the instruments with them to the Tuesday service. The inmates respond immediately and enthusiastically to the music – singing old hymns and more popular tunes and experience grace in the power of song.
We also spend time reflecting together on scripture and the lessons scripture offers for life and friendship. Often the men reflect personally and poignantly on the challenges they face; they seek God's support and the friendship of others as they piece their lives together after devastating experiences.
We conclude with communion – breaking bread together and remembering the forgiveness and example of Jesus. This ritual is a powerful reminder of the love that will not let us go and the community that prays for our needs again and again and again.
If you're interested in supporting the Men's Jail Ministry at FCC, feel free to contact Rev. Dave Grishaw-Jones at 426-2010 or
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
. It' s a joy and a privilege to serve god in this way with good friends in our church community.
WOMEN'S JAIL MINISTRY
Since April of 2006, a team of women have started meeting with women inmates of Santa Cruz County Main Jail. In the words of one of the women on our team, this time is "a gift."
We gather together every Tuesday morning for an hour of worship, faith sharing, laughing, and crying. We share our stories and our gifts with one another. It is a safe place for the women to come together and talk about their struggles, their fears, their doubts, and their thanksgivings. It's a meaningful ministry for everyone involved.
Through songs, stories in scriptures, our own stories, we gain a glimpse of the Holy that surrounds us. In prayer we hold each other in the pain that this broken world some times hands out and find the hope that God is gracious and forgiving: loving each of us exactly where we are.
All are welcome to join us. For more information about this ministry, contact the main office at 831 426-2010 or reach out directly to the lay leadership team for Jail Ministry.
Men's team: Tom Beckett; Women's team: Carol Roberts; Juvenile team: c/o office
|