|
Kairos ministry finds success going
into state prisons
By
Bob Astalos
Regional Georgia Representative
Kairos Prison Ministry
Special to GwinnettForum.com
(Editor's Note: Today's author is a former resident
of Gwinnett, now living in Rockdale County, and working in a key
ministry getting excellent results within prisons. -eeb)
CONYERS, Ga. April 17, 2007 -- "Kairos" is a Greek word
that refers to "time". We interpret it as meaning "God's
Special Time".
Astalos |
We take teams of about 30 people into 22 of our 36 Georgia prisons,
present a 3.5 day Christian Retreat. Then we return to do another
session every six months. The results show that it is indeed, "God's
Special Time."
Besides being in 22 Georgia state prisons, the ministry is active
in 33 states, as well as around the world. In Australia, England,
Ireland (with Catholics and Protestants together), Puerto Rico,
Costa Rica and Canada. Phillips State Prison in Buford is among
the 22 prisons where we are currently active in Georgia.
While recidivism is usually quoted as being between 50-75 percent
in five years after being released, studies of inmates who have
been involved in Kairos while incarcerated typically show a recidivism
rate of between 10-15 percent. It is also typical that disciplinary
incidents in the prison drop from around 100 per month to more like
10 per month when Kairos is involved with that prison.
This is a very high commitment ministry. Team members must commit
to attending eight Saturday meetings to learn the ministry and to
become a unified Christian Community themselves, before entering
the prison.
After the three day weekend program in the prison, they must commit
to returning for a reunion meeting with all the inmates in the prison
who have ever participated in the program, one Saturday a month
for the next 12 months.
In order to assemble a high commitment team of this size (men for
men's prisons and women for our three women's prisons), it is necessary
that the teams be interdenominational.
Christine Money, warden of Marion Correctional Institution in Marion,
Ohio, says: "When I was told about Kairos, I was told it would
change the culture of the prison. I was certainly skeptical. But
today I can say that Kairos has had a powerful positive impact on
the prison communities in which I have worked. I have never seen
any other program have the impact that Kairos has on individuals,
families and the institution. I look at Kairos as a valued partner
in salvaging lives ravaged by dysfunction, drugs and crime."
Wardens of the prisons in which we function, typically have a similar
response.
Our purpose is to build strong Christian communities within the
environment of the prison. We do that by presenting the ministry
to 42 inmates at a time, using a weekend short course in Christianity
tailored for prison institutions.
When a person enters prison, they quickly learn it is a hostile
environment, and they quickly learn their only defense is to build
a wall around themselves. The Kairos approach is to help them take
those walls down, and build Christian support communities through
weekly prayer and share groups.
Persons who would like to consider participating in this ministry
by serving on a team, sponsoring an inmate financially, praying,
writing letters, drawing posters, or in a myriad of other ways,
please contact me Regional Rep for Georgia, at 770-922-8246.
Demoralizing words from military on troop
deployment
By
Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
GwinnettForum.com
APRIL 17, 2007 -- It was the most disturbing news of last week.
Brack |
The Defense Department is adding three months to the length of
military tours in Iraq, going from 12 to 15 month tours. On top
of that, the department says that they cannot say how long the extension
of the duty will continue.
The Defense Department sought to sugar-coat the announcement, by
saying: "We're going to make sure that once soldiers return
from Iraq, they will be home at least a year before they are sent
back."
Wow! How can the military stand all this good news! It underwhelms
the imagination.
Such an announcement has a tremendously demoralizing effect on
the Armed Forces in Iraq. Meanwhile, soldiers now in the United
States, looking over their shoulder at when they might be sent to
this civil war zone, are also hit hard with this news. This announcement
certainly will not help recruiting offices convince people to sign
up for the military. The volunteer army will take quite a hit over
this.
Think, too, of the families of these military personnel, already
upset over the conduct of the war, and now additionally hit in the
face with this new ruling. That cream on top of staying home a year
will taste mighty bitter, faced with the eventual return, both for
the dependents and loved ones, as well as the soldiers.
The credibility of the leaders of the Defense Department and the
military is eroded by this announcement. Faced with shuttling more
troops to Iraq because of President Bush's desire for a "surge,"
the Pentagon brass are wringing their hands on where the depleted
military can come up with more fresh troops. Their only solution,
it seems, is to order longer deployments.
In effect, the military is undercutting the word of the commanders
who had set up times for the troops to return. These tours of duty
are like taxes: they seem to go up, not down.
You gain credibility by keeping your word. Adding more time to
tours is another sign of how bad the insurgency and civil war is
going in Iraq. Instead of adding to tours, the United States should
gradually be reducing the troop strength, 100 here, another 100
there, and eventually we could remove ourselves quietly, while allowing
the Iraq people take responsibility for policing their own country.
All this continues because primarily one guy, President Bush, is
being hard-headed as he fails to hear the will of the American people.
All he can do is dig in his heels, insist his way is right, and
order it done, because he is the Commander-in-Chief.
It has not been a good week when American forces are put in additional
harm's way by this extension of the tour of duty in Iraq.
America ought to be doing better than that, and get out of this
Middle Eastern morass sooner than later.
 Today's
sponsor is the Gwinnett Philharmonic Orchestra, presenting
their season finale: Philharmonic Big Band Jazz, on Tuesday, May
15 at 8 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center at the Gwinnett Center.
This concert features the Philharmonic‚s own jazz musicians,
joined by Joe Gransden, jazz trumpeter, in exploring the music of
the great jazz legends. Check out more information on Gransden at
www.joegransden.com. For more information on the Gwinnett Philharmonic,
visit the web site at www.gwinnettphilharmonic.org.
Tickets are $28 adults, $24 seniors and $12 students. To purchase
tickets, visit any Ticketmaster outlet or call Ticketmaster at 404-249-6400,
or visit the Gwinnett Center box office between 10 and 5, Monday-Friday.
Confused
about two positions concerning governance
Editor, the Forum:
I am confused. In your April
10 column you cited the large (and inferred inept) commission
of Fulton County and Atlanta City Council as reasons that bigger
is not better. In today's
column (April 13) you used the NPU concept from the city of
Atlanta as an alternate concept. There seems to me to be a conflicting
argument here.
By the way, I am always impressed with organizations that have five,
ten and fifteen year comprehensive plans that can only be amended
four times a year. Netting that out isn't that a 90 day plan? That
doesn't appear to be either comprehensive or a plan.
On the other hand the Forum and your columns has sparked the conversation
on the subject and this is a good thing.
-- Patrick Malone, Snellville
Dear Pat: Sorry for confusion. While large public
bodies can be ineffective, in the city of Atlanta they have sought
to bring government closer to the people with their Neighborhood
Planning Unit concept. It takes some pressure off the council
members, and allows the issue before the NPU to be settled among
neighbors, instead of before the entire big population of the
city. Government closer to the people, don't you know!--eeb
The right trying to
tar Pelosi with president's failures
Editor, the Forum:
According to Barbara O'Brien, "The Right is shrieking that
Pelosi violated the Logan Act and committed a felony by traveling
to Syria." If in fact Speaker Pelosi violated this Act, then
a large part of Congress has violated it.
The administration has failed to produce any evidence that she
did or said anything in her meetings in Damascus that went beyond
her role or responsibilities as a member of Congress. Her schedule
was arranged by the U.S. Embassy there, and diplomatic personnel
representing the president were present at all times.
Unlike Pelosi, Republican Dennis Hastert and his staff were not
reticent to speak on behalf of the United States government, nor
were they worried about negotiating as though they were official
emissaries of the president. But unlike Pelosi, they were not accompanied
by officials of the embassy and often did not inform the embassy
of their visits.
Over the course of several years, Hastert insisted that billions
of dollars be inserted in appropriation bills to pay for weapons
that he and his aides negotiated on behalf of the Colombian military.
The Pelosi hysteria is really about the "emergency" supplement
appropriations bill that Bush will veto. The White House is setting
up a way to blame Congress for not funding the troops.
The president's war in Iraq is a colossal failure, and as a result
the public wants the troops home and safe.
But according to Bush, it's the Democrats who are the party of
failure, who are defying the will of the people and who would keep
the troops in harm's way.
"What the Right is doing is just a political game to discredit
Pelosi, and they're doing it by tarring her with Bush's own weakness
-- his inept foreign policy. Turning the public against Democrats
in Congress will allow Bush to blame them for his failures,"
said Barbara O'Brien at the Take Back America Conference
-- Ralph Greene, Snellville
Former
Gwinnettian to hold book-signing here on April 21
Jaclyn Weldon White will be at two Barnes & Noble book stores
in Gwinnett on Saturday, April 21, signing her new book, Mockingbird
in the Moonlight. The book is a murder mystery with Southern
history and charm plus a group of Southern characters.
White, the former Juvenile Court Administrator in Gwinnett County,
is well known for her two true crime books, Whisper to the Black
Candle, the Anjette Lyles story; and The Empty Nursery,
an account of the 1992 disappearance of Haley Hardwick in Gwinnett.
The author previously lived in Gwinnett and now resides in Macon.
Suwanee plans open
house, Internet scavenger hunt
In commemoration of Georgia Cities Week, a statewide celebration
of cities and the services that they provide, the City of Suwanee
will host a "Suwanee Exceeded Expectations" open house
and equipment display on Thursday, April 26. In addition, Suwanee
is sponsoring an online scavenger hunt that highlights information
about services provided through the City.
The open house will be from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. at City Hall, 323 Buford
Highway. Refreshments, answers regarding service questions, give-aways,
and smiling faces will be available throughout the day.
From 10 a.m.-noon and 3-5 p.m., a display of City of Suwanee equipment
will be available in the front parking lot at City Hall. A police
car and bicycle, Suwanee's new hybrid public works truck, speed
trailer, bucket truck, gator, Polaris vehicle, and lawn mower will
be on display.
An online scavenger hunt can be downloaded from www.suwanee.com.
All items, or answers to questions, can be found on the City of
Suwanee website. Completed forms should be turned in to Office Administrator
Billie Marshall at City Hall by Monday, April 23. Those with the
correct answers will be entered in an April 26 drawing for a gift
"basket" that includes various City of Suwanee items,
such as a cooler, cap, chair and umbrella.
Railroad Museum 5th
annual salute to armed forces is May 19
On Saturday May, 19, from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., the Southeastern
Railway Museum will hold its fifth annual celebration of Armed Forces
Day, with a patriotic salute to the men and women of our nation's
armed services.
The welcoming will be at 11 a.m. with a Marine Corps color guard
and raising of the flag.
Activities will include displays of vintage military transportation
vehicles, featuring the museum's retired railway Army troop kitchen
car; caboose train and track speeder rides; and games. There will
be refreshments available for purchase.
Members (active, retired or reserve) of the Armed Forces will be
admitted free.
The event will be held rain or shine.
Gwinnett
Tech center to offer "Camp Imagination Station"
Gwinnett Technical College's D. Scott Hudgens, Jr. Early Education
Center is preparing to open its doors to day campers for the first
time this summer, for children entering kindergarten through second
grade.
"Camp Imagination Station" at the Center on the campus
of Gwinnett Tech will run from May 29 to July 27. Rising Kindergarteners
through second-graders may be enrolled for one or more days or weeks,
or for the entire nine-week period. The camp, which runs from 7
a.m. until 6:15 p.m., Monday through Friday, is $140/week or $38/day.
Camp registration begins March 1. Call 678-226-6510 or by stop by
the center for an application.
In addition to low child-teacher ratios that provide an inviting
and relaxed atmosphere among teachers and students, the camps will
also offer stimulating, interactive activities, including:
- Weekly field trips and special activities:
- Water play on the Center's new playgrounds;
- Italian-style Atelier studios with a large variety of materials
and mediums to use in child- directed art;
- Dramatic play village;
- Inventors warehouse with materials and machines that can be
taken apart and put back together; and
- Multi-media labs, such as computer, listening center, library
and writing areas.
Becky Olson, director, D. Scott Hudgens, Jr. Early Education Center
at Gwinnett Tech, says: "We are excited to introduce our summer
camp program this year in conjunction with our annual educational
offerings, rounding out our successful inaugural year of educating
children and training college students preparing to enter the field
of early childhood care and education."
The 26,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art Center opened last July
to provide students studying early childhood education at Gwinnett
Tech a hands-on experience in a quality learning environment, while
simultaneously serving as a nurturing educational center for children
aged six weeks to 12 years. The Center's summer camp program will
be added to its existing list of offerings, including infant, toddler
and before- and after-school care, plus state and private pre-kindergarten
and Montessori programs, all following the National Association
for the Education of the Young Child (NAEYC) accreditation standards.
To enroll in or to learn more about the summer camp program. or
any of the programs of the Early Education Center, call 678.226.6510
or visit www.GwinnettTech.edu.
To pre-register a child for the Center, log on to www.GwinnettTech.edu/heec.
JAVA: Two
Different Locations
"For coffee, check out the Caribou Coffee on Scenic Highway
north bound just past Webb Gin House Road. Mighty Joe Espresso at
4404 Hugh Howell Road in Tucker is also excellent. Both places are
a better alternative to Starbucks, whose quality has suffered miserably
as they have expanded their market share becoming yet another corporate
behemoth. Both Caribou and Joe's are locally owned, so your money
helps support the local economy. You'll get warm, friendly service
and quality drinks every time."
-- Roger Hagen, Lilburn
- An invitation: What
Web sites, books or restaurants have you enjoyed? Send us your
best recent visit to a restaurant or most recent book you have
read along with a short paragraph as to why you liked it, plus
what book you plan to read next. --eeb
Hinduism
one of fastest growing religions in Georgia
Hindu Temple in Atlanta |
Hinduism
is one of the fastest growing religious communities in Georgia.
Hindus in Georgia number more than 40,000, and they are concentrated
in and around Atlanta. Most of Georgia's Hindus come from western
India, primarily Gujarat. Immigrants from India increased 200 percent
during the 1990s, making them the largest Asian group in Georgia.
Hindu community life centers on temples, which host a variety of
daily, weekly, monthly, and annual services, as well as family events.
Templegoers traditionally remove their shoes before entering the
primary worship space, which contains murtis, or consecrated images
of various deities. Devotees pray and make offerings to these deities
with the assistance of priests, who lead worship in Sanskrit, the
sacred language of Hinduism. Pujas, or worship services, include
offerings of food or flowers to the appropriate deities. Temples
have broad cultural as well as religious significance. Hindu communities
use their temples, in addition to hosting religious services, to
host family celebrations, provide cultural instruction, and coordinate
social services.
Hinduism is an ancient religion, with roots in India that can be
traced back 5,000 years. The religion teaches that one's actions
generate karma, or spiritual consequences. Karma follows each individual
from one life to the next through reincarnation. The spiritual aim
in Hinduism is to be released from the cycle of birth, death, and
rebirth and to be united with the supreme deity. Hindus believe
that there is one supreme deity but that this deity is manifest
in a variety of forms. Worship of the manifestations of different
deities allows believers to focus on distinct qualities of the supreme
deity.
In the United States, elements of Hinduism have been incorporated
into a distinct, relatively new religious movement, the International
Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), more commonly known
as the Hare Krishna movement.. In Georgia, Hare Krishna members
are most prevalent in the metropolitan Atlanta area. New Pani Hati,
the Hare Krishna Temple in Druid Hills, established in 1973, is
the oldest Krishna temple in the Southeast. This temple provides
instruction in Krishna beliefs and practices and hosts the Sunday
Feast, a basic element of Krishna devotion. Hare Krishna devotees
are most frequently identified by the saffron robes of their monks
and the tilaka, or forehead mark.
Words of wisdom concerning
that tax deadline of Tuesday
"The income tax has made liars out of more Americans than
golf."
-- American Author and Humorist Will Rogers (1879-1935), via
Cindy Evans, Duluth.
Send your thoughts, 55-word short stories, pet peeves
or comments on any issue to Gwinnett
Forum for future publication.
===========================================
MORE: Contact Gwinnett Forum at: elliott@gwinnettforum.com
© 2007, Gwinnett Forum.com. Gwinnett Forum
is an online community commentary for exploring pragmatic and sensible
social, political and economic approaches to improve life in Gwinnett
County, Ga. USA.
|
