8/6/17 "Free to forgive in a criminally unjust system?"

Forgiveness, redemption, and atonement are concepts​ we wrestle with in our everyday lives. Things go wrong and we find ourselves asking for or giving forgiveness; allowing for redemption; and perhaps even welcoming an act of atonement. When someone is imprisoned this cycle is truncated by systems built to thwart any real reintegration. Separated from community there is little opportunity for reparation. Our ministry in prisons and jails is based on the radical notion that every person is worthy of respect and has the capability of completing this cycle of forgiveness. Come and learn how all of us are affected and how together we can offer hope and help. Forgiveness, redemption, and atonement are not ​ethereal ideas​;​ they live and transform with us.

 

Rev Karen Mooney - Is a community minister working with the UU Prison Ministries of Illinois. This newly formed group is bringing the hope-filled message about belief in every person's inherent worth and dignity to those incarcerated and returning to our communities. Karen is a life-long Unitarian Universalist who learned the art of church from her very involved parents She has been educated far and wide working and playing, listening and walking with people. She loves that UU communities are places where you find people who are alive and seeking throughout their lives.