Kairos Prison Ministry
John and Lucy Aymond will be working with the Kairos team for Bartlett #7, October 25-28, and are soliciting help and participation from our church family. We thought you might like to learn what Kairos is all about.
The word KAIROS refers to “God’s Special Time.”
Kairos of Texas operates as a State Chapter of Kairos Prison Ministry International, Inc. and addresses the spiritual needs of incarcerated men, women, and youth, their families and those who work in the prison environment.
The purpose of KAIROS is to build up strong Christian communities within prison walls. This is done through inter-denominational teams of both lay people and clergy who meet with 42 women or men for an intensive love-filled 3-day weekend. For many it will prove to be a life-changing experience of permanent impact. At their separate units the men and women will be formed into small prayer and share groups that will continue to meet weekly. Many of the team members will return to meet with them. Going back week-after-week and one Saturday a month shows God’s love as nothing else does. Persons in prison can be positive they have been abandoned by God and humanity. The talks and activities of the weekend itself show God’s love to these people as they have never seen it before. Some have forgotten that they know God, some have never met Christ, and some do not believe that God loves them. The team that goes inside the prison lives out God’s message of love in a very vulnerable yet forceful way.
Bartlett is a men’s prison, so John will be going inside to work directly with the participants. Lucy will be part of the Outside Team which prepares meals, counts cookies, prays, writes letters, makes posters and does everything possible to make the weekend a wonderful one for the men inside. If you would like to participate either on an outside or inside team, talk to Lucy or John. Anyone interested can attend the closing ceremony on Sunday afternoon. See Lucy for an application.
But going inside the prison is not the only way the message of God’s love is carried to these men and women. You, too, can share in bringing “God’s Special Time” to those in prison and be a bearer of God’s love. Each of these weekends needs prayers and thousands of cookies. There is a 72-hour prayer vigil and you will have an opportunity to sign up to be a pray-er. This 400 foot chain of love will have a tremendous impact on the men. You can also ask Lucy for the Instructions for Cookie Preparation. Additional methods of participating are writing letters of encouragement, making posters or placements, and making a financial contribution. A sponsorship for a participant is $125. You may, if you like, write a check to the church and write “KAIROS, Bartlett #7” on the memo line.
Lucy will be visiting Sunday School classes to talk about letters, to give you the opportunity to sign up for the Prayer Vigil and to invite you to Closing. We know we are asking for a lot of support and we want you to know how very much your help is needed and appreciated and how great a blessing each of you are. If you have any questions, please give Lucy or John a call, 512-864-7324.