One of the treats of our type of ministry is meeting so many people who are also in full time ministry. One of these people is Marian Zimmermann, a Catholic nun who is the chaplain at Maine's state prison in the suburban town of Windham. She was my hostess again on Friday as I did a show in the prison once again. Sister Marian met me at the front desk in the morning as one of the guards went through all my props and took an inventory. This is not an uncommon thing to happen, as, obviously, security is the first priority in such a facility. The poor guard, working off of a list I had sent earlier in the week, had to have many things explained to him: what exactly is a dove harness? a diabolo? You get the idea.
We were then driven to another 'pod' of the prison just in time for the inmates to be lining up for lunch. I waited with Sr. Marian in the hallway where the men received their trays. I think they were being served chili, but it looked rather pale and soupy. A few of the guys said hi to us, and Marian had to tell one guy to pull his pants up higher. For a woman who is not more than 4'10", she doesn't take any crap from anyone. Nothing like a tough little nun!
One of the guards who was supervising the meal service looked kind of agitated, and when asked by a coworker why, he muttered something about treating a bunch of sex offenders to a magic show. I never like it when I know what people in my jail-audiences are in prison for, and I admit I had to wrestle with putting this information out of my thoughts. The bottom line is, if I believe God is a God of grace and second chances, I need to accept that this is true for anyone. Period. As it turns out, the same guard was the one assigned to my show,and he really got a kick out of it. He also seemed to appreciate the message of hope and second chances.
When lunch was over, we went into the pod to set up. All the guys were already in the common area, and Marian was going to order them all to be locked up while I set up. Instead I offered to set up in a hallway just on the other side of the door. I figured it would be quicker to do it this way, and I would not have to overcome the fact that my show was responsible for them to be sent back to their cells, even if only for a short time.
The show went for an hour, and it was a blast. Not only that, they heard about a God who loved them so much that he send Jesus to take the price for their sins and mine and change their hearts if we humble ourselves and accept His lordship over us. Very cool. After the show, they all wanted to meet Jeremiah - our rabbit. It always amazes me how the bunny brings out a gentle side of even the men I meet behind bars. This was true again Friday. When everyone had time to visit him the guard inventoried all my props once again and it was time to go.
Marian escorted me out, and as we were waiting for our ride back to the main entrance, a female guard was walking by. She saw the rabbit and stopped in her tracks. she asked if she could hold him, and of course I let her. She took just a few moments to snuggle him, and, when she had to give him back and continue into the pod, she said, " That is the happiest I've been in weeks!" Good for you, Jeremiah!