Coronavirus in the Prisons
I know that all our lives have been disrupted by the coronavirus. You may feel like our world is turned upside down.
Inmates are also affected by the coronavirus. An officer in the prison tested positive. He worked 3/9/2020. All volunteer activities, family visitations, and volunteers are prohibited at the Monroe Correctional Center. This means that I am no longer able to visit inmates in the hospital, provide pastoral counseling or teach the Bible Study class on the book of John. Furthermore, we can no longer provide worship services for inmates on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Sundays of the month. God alone knows when this will end.
During this troubling time, I want to share with you what I tell inmates to do with their worries. I find that inmates spend far too much time worrying about things that are beyond their control. I ask them to take two pieces of paper and write upon the top of one “Things I Control” and upon the other “Things I Cannot Control.” The sheet entitled “Things I Control” is the “To-Do” list. The sheet entitled “Things I Cannot Control” is the prayer list. Our God is so powerful, kind and wise that we can entrust to him the things beyond our control.
Please pray that inmates in Monroe, in the USA and in the world who are apprentices of Jesus might trust God in the midst of this trial. May they share their faith in both actions and words with those who are anxious.
I will spend this time preparing for the class on the book of John and Galatians since we will study this next.
Thank you for your partnership in the gospel.
Rip Van Winkle