Prison Evangelist Gives Inmates 20,000 Free Copies of Memoir About Drug Addiction, Incarceration and Recovery

Christian prison evangelist Marty Angelo today announced the release of his memoir, "Once Life Matters: A New Beginning," the gritty, true story of his life in the music business, caught up in drugs, sex, alcohol, rock 'n' roll, and disco music, leading to a six-year sentence in prison for possession of cocaine and conspiracy to distribute. It is a powerful, life-changing account of his delivery from addiction and self-destruction into a strong witness for Jesus Christ.

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Poems to Comfort the Soul

From the One Bread (1 Corinthians 10:17) blog, some "poems to comfort the soul".

beautiful poems to comfort prisoners, whether in the confines of an actual jail, or inprisoned by feelings of doubt, guilt, sorrow, or suffering.

Books behind bars

From an article about the ChIRP program in Canada.

ChIRP is completely optional to inmates. Interested individuals — there are now women inmates involved in this program as well — choose a storybook then read the story for their child on a tape. This not only creates a tangible link between inmates and their families, but also sends the child a gift while living in a situation which would not normally allow for such a gesture.

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Has anybody done anything similar in their ministry? I would like to hear about it.

'You learn real fast here who your friends are and who aren't'

Article on a prison ministry in Hawaii...

He offers inmates a no-holds-barred kind of prison ministry that goes straight to the root of what's bothering those he counsels. His visits are heavy on the Bible; the word of God is prevalent. Sui conducts Bible studies with groups and offers one-on-one counseling as well.

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Former Philadelphia mayor to give speech

From NewsOK.com...

The first black mayor of Philadelphia will be the keynote speaker when St. John Missionary Baptist Church holds its third annual prison ministry symposium Jan. 14.

The theme is "A Hope for Children of Promise."

W. Wilson Goode Sr., Philadelphia mayor from 1983 to 1992, will speak about his work with the Amachi Program, a faith- based, national model program for mentoring children of incarcerated parents.

"We found out if children have parents in prison they are more likely to think that they're going to have to go too," said the Rev. Norman Barber, St. John's director of evangelism and prison ministry.

The symposium will be from 9 a.m. to noon at the church at 5700 N Kelley in Oklahoma City.

To register, call 478-5656 or e-mail Barber at nbarber@stjohnokc.org.

Prison Fellowship brings Cash back to Folsom

The event was organised by Prison Fellowship, a group that runs Bible studies and other educational programs in prisons.

Fellowship spokesman Joe Avila said the movie's message would be good for inmates because Cash's "whole life was a message of redemption".

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News about Freedom Ministries in Kansas

"I don't know exactly where I turned from being a 'regular' kid," to one focused on evangelizing. "I do know it was over a period of time after I started helping with the prison ministry."

Freedom Ministries was started a decade ago and has ongoing programs in several Kansas prisons and does evangelism programs at all of the prisons several times a year.

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