I was scheduled to do two chapel services at the Somerset County Jail in Madison, Maine during the week between Christmas and New Years Day.  A horrific ice storm and the subsequent clean up led to postponing the show until my school's February break, which was last week.  This time the weather was a perfect, sunny but cold winter day, so I got up early and headed out on the two hour trek to 'my favorite jail."

I call Somerset County my favorite jail for two reasons.  Their initials, SCJ, are the same initials as my ministry's: Supreme Court Jester. Those letters are even in the tiles on the chapel floor, right where I stand when I perform.  It's like I'm being welcomed there each time I go. Secondly, chapel seems to be a high priority at SCJ.  The chapel is not just a  multi-purpose room, like so many other such facilities.  The large, well lit cement block room even has "stained glass" windows painted on the walls by past inmates.  They are beautiful.

I did my first show for the incarcerated women.  Maybe it's the fact that I have three adult daughters, but my heart always goes out to the women in such situations.  The audience of 15 or 20 women were with me right from the start, and of course, they loved the bunny and doves.  But they also hung on every word as I wrapped up the service in a new way.  I have recently been gifted a LOT of used magic, and one of the items was an arm guillotine.  I use it to magically NOT cut off my hand even though the blade goes through it and cuts a carrot that is beneath my hand in half.  I spoke about Jesus saying that if our hand causes us to sin, it is better to cut it off than to face judgment with hands in tact. I pointed out that this is NOT hyperbole.  If our hands were the cause of sin, then they should go.  But of course, this is not the case.  Our human sin nature is the cause of sin, therefore must go, and the only way that is possible is for the Holy Spirit to reside in us through faith, slowly increasing, as our human nature decreases.  You could hear a pin drop.

The next show was for perhaps 40 of the male prisoners.  I did basically the same set, and they were more into the humor, magic and juggling than even the women were.  When I brought it around to the hand chopper and its subsequent lesson, I asked what they thought would happen if they told the judge, "I'm not to blame for assaulting that guy.  My fists caused me to do it."  This got the boggest laugh of the show, but the point was made.  It's out hearts that need to change.  The men also hung on every word, and there was a bit of interest in being part of the jail's weekly Bible studies.

And no doubt, for reasons I may never know, it was meant to do those services in Februaryi nstead of their originally  date during the holidays.