Unitarian Universalist Prison Ministry

UU’s are active in prison ministry as part of its social justice umbrella. Our country incarcerates more people per capita than any other independent democracy in the world. In fact, 34 of our 50 states individually incarcerate more people per capita than any other country in the world. While Illinois isn’t one of those 34 states, it has a higher rate than Brazil, Turkey, or China.

Incarcerated citizens in our country are truly marginalized. Of our 2.3 million incarcerated people, 555,000 are incarcerated pre-trial. While in prison, these people receive poor health care, including less protection from COVID-19. But even after serving their time, they are treated as second class citizens, with barriers to housing, jobs and education. Of the 7 million people in the prison system, 3.6 million, or over half, are on probation.

We have about 1,000 UU members who are incarcerated. These are members of CLF, or the Church of the Larger Fellowship, which also matches these members with UU volunteers who serve as penpals, providing relationships.

There are many sources of information about prisons and the plight of incarcerated people. UUPMI, or UU Prison Ministry of Illinois, has read and discussed the book, We Do This Til We Free Us by Mariame Kaba. A Rockford group has read The End of Policing by Alex S. Vitale. The podcast, “Ear Hustle,“ talks with incarcerated persons and shares their stories. If you are interested in this aspect of social justice, speak with Rev. Joyce.

Submitted by Teresa Wilmot