Mission of the Incarceration Justice Group
We believe, as part of a faith community, that God’s love extends to all, including people who are incarcerated and those returning to the community. We strive to educate ourselves and others about incarceration justice, promote an expectation of care, dignity and respect for all, and partner with other organizations to advocate for change, while participating in direct service opportunities.
The Incarceration Justice Group meets monthly to discuss the incarceration systems in our country. We write letters to DC residents imprisoned in federal facilities, read books about incarceration, and discuss opportunities to advocate for reform of the incarceration systems in our region. For more information, contact Jan Lipscomb.
December 2022 Holiday Letter-Writing Effort
Our December Incarceration Justice meeting will be held in person at St. Mark’s on December 18, 2022 (between all services). To help make your Advent preparations full of meaningful ways to spread love and share blessings, consider this opportunity: writing letters to individuals in prisons and DC Jail. The holiday season can be particularly lonely for those who are incarcerated and, as one person stated, “a letter from outside prison walls is a shining star in my darkness of times.”
We invite all members of the St. Mark’s community to join us. Interested? Please contact Jan Lipscomb at juanita.lipscomb[at]gmail.com to sign up. If you cannot come on the 18th, click the link below for information on other ways to participate.
One of the organizations we partner with, Neighbors for Justice, has posted guidance for writing messages on their website: Take Action Letters. Among the examples they provide are wonderful children’s drawings. Thank you notes from those receiving letters in the past express sincere appreciation of holiday wishes from children. Provided are guidelines for writing and uploading letters and drawings, specifically for individuals in the DC Jail; this process is more generous than that outlined for corresponding with individuals in the Federal Bureau of Prisons.