Prison Pen Pals from CLF

UU’s Church of the Larger Fellowship

About one thousand of our UU members are incarcerated in the US. These members are likely members of our largest congregation, the Church of the Larger Fellowship, which exists to serve persons who, for any reason, are unable to attend a physical congregation. Some members are residents of rural areas where the nearest UU church might be several hundred miles distant. Or some have limited mobility and require an on-line presence, a rare option before COVID forced our thinking outside of the box of church buildings.

One of the CLF’s outreach programs is its Worthy Now Prison Ministry Network which includes Prison Pen Pals. If you ask, the CLF will match a member of a UU congregation with one of its incarcerated members. You agree to write 2 letters a month for at least 6 months. In return the person who is in prison makes a connection with another UU, and, in time, they forge a relationship. This link also allows the incarcerated person to communicate problems in that particular prison. The UUPMI, Prison Ministry of Illinois, works with representatives in Springfield to improve conditions for prisoners.

I have a pen pal in the Logan Correctional Center, a prison for women in Lincoln, IL. If you want to explore this opportunity, listen to this 4-minute video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6Q__ALE06w&t=260s

For more information about this outreach program, and guidelines for letters to pen pals, go to this site:

https://worthynow.org/pen-pals#1491760692943-962b3cae-baaa

Submitted by Teresa Wilmot