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Living Stones Prison Congregation Newsletter

What’s happening in the Living Stones community
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APOLOGIES FOR LINK NOT WORKING TODAY

Somehow the passcode info for the link to today’s monthly check-in zoom was dropped. Our deep apologies to all who tried to join us! Our next gathering will be on Monday, Jan. 10 at 3 p.m. The FULL link will be sent out in a MailChimp and will also be available on our Facebook page.

A few highlights from today’s conversation…..
  • Because of increased participation, three worship services are now being offered at WCC/Shelton every other Wednesday afternoon by Pr. Chris. Up to 20 men can attend each service. These continue to be held in the employees dining hall while the chapel is being remodeled.
  • Development of Living Stones ministry at the Monroe Correctional Complex continues to move slowly. Pr. Chris is in the process of completing some new required paperwork.
  • Several congregations in the SWWA and NWWA synods have expressed interest in obtaining backpacks made by the men. The prison staff and the men are developing the system for creating and distributing them. In the meantime, interested congregations are encouraged to contact Sandi (sandi@livingstonespc.org) with info about the name of the group, how many they want, who the contact person is, and by when they would want/need the backpacks. We’re not sure how soon these will be available – it may be a few months.
  • We celebrate the successful completion of our 2021 raffle. Approximately $11,000 was raised! A report will be in an upcoming MailChimp.
  • Thank you to Doug Haugen for the donation of Master Builders Bibles for Men and to United/Bethlehem Lutheran Churches/Tacoma for their donation of AA materials for the men.
As always, thank you for all your continued support of our men and this ministry. We give thanks to God for your partnership! 

There’s still time to send your greetings!

Shining God’s Light into the darkness
Cost: a moment or two of your time
Benefit: priceless as lives are touched 

As we journey through this time of Advent, we seek ways to show what Jesus’ coming is about and how to see God’s presence in our lives and the lives of others. We seek to share the God of Light in the midst of our darkness.

Like the rest of our world, the men at Washington Corrections Center continue to live through the effects of this pandemic and have limited in-person contact with the outside community. Some, but not all, are now receiving family visitors. Our Red Badge volunteers and guests from outside congregations are not yet able to go inside. Pastor Chris sees the men for a few hours and worships with them every other week. Click here for an update about Covid at the prisons. 

You can help bring God’s Light into the ever-darkening world of our men. It won’t cost you a dime and can be done from the warm comfort of your home.

We continue to send a weekly newsletter to our men. These include words of encouragement and are a way to let them know that people on the outside are thinking about them and holding them in prayer.

We invite you to be part of a project to help the men know they are not forgotten during the holidays. We are again putting together a “Christmas card” as part of an upcoming newsletter for them. We encourage you to send a simple greeting (just a line or two of encouragement). Artwork will be added to these greetings and they will be the newsletter that is sent to the men for Christmas week. It would be great to have such an abundance of greetings that we need to extend the length of our newsletter and even fill up a couple of weeks’ worth of newsletters! 

Click here to see one of last year’s “Christmas card” newsletter. (We had so many greetings we were able to do several weeks of letters to the men!)

To participate:
  1. Email your greeting to Sandi at sandi@livingstonespc.org by Thursday, Dec. 16.
  2. Put “Christmas card” in the subject line.
  3. As always, your full name will not be used in the newsletter. Only your first name or simply “sister or brother in Christ.”
  4. Questions? Contact Sandi at sandi@livingstonespc.org or 360-907-4288.
Thank you for taking this moment.  You are making a difference in the lives of our men. May God’s Light shine in your life this day.

Advent peace and hope to you always.

Pastor Chris Ode
For more info . . . 
To learn more about our ministry inside the prison (Living Stones) and our re-entry work (Stepping Stones), please check out our web sites:
Living Stones Prison Congregation – https://livingstonespc.org/
Stepping Stones to Re-Entry – https://steppingstones2reentry.org/

To contact our staff, please use these addresses:
Pastor Chris Ode – pastor@livingstonespc.org
Sandi Nolte, pastoral ministry assistant – sandi@livingstonespc.org (for Living Stones) or steppingstones2reentry@outlook.com (for Stepping Stones)
 
Other ways to support the men and ministry of Living Stones

Prayer – pray that our men and the WCC staff will be safe and well in these days of the COVID outbreak. (Click here for an update of all state prison facilities.)

Weekly newsletter (WCC edition) – Short paragraphs are always needed for this weekly publication of encouragement for the men and staff of WCC. Please submit your items to Sandi by Tuesday each week. Thank you to all have sent submissions – they have been well appreciated! 

Advocate for criminal justice reform – Several bills that weren’t passed in last spring’s legislative session will again be considered in the 2022 session. Check out Faith Action Network’s bill tracker for an update (be sure to read all categories to get info about criminal justice issues): https://fanwa.org/advocacy/bill-tracker/.

Clothing and book/Bible donations – Good, used clothing is always needed for men who are returning to the outside community. Please note that at this time, ALL donations (including clothing) need prior approval before taken to the prison warehouse. (The prison staff has asked us not to use the outside blue bin.) Please contact Sandi at sandi@livingstonespc.org for assistance.

Give a financial gift – Donations may be given online at our web site (https://livingstonespc.org/ – click the “how to support” tab) or mailed to Living Stones Prison Congregation, c/o Faith Lutheran Church, 1212 Connection Street, Shelton, WA 98584.

Thank you for your partnership.
You are part of God’s work of changing lives in this community!
 
 
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Copyright © 2021 Living Stones Prison Congregation, All rights reserved.
As a supporter of the Living Stones Prison Ministry of the Southwestern Washington Synod-ELCA and the Northwest Washington Synod-ELCA, you are receiving this email.

Our mailing address is:
Living Stones Prison Congregation
c/o Faith Lutheran Church
1212 Connection St.
Shelton, WA 98584

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