"I was in prison and you visted me..."

Mzuzu Central Prison is in the city and housed 344 prisoners today, including: 14 mothers, 12 juvenials, 3 young children, and 7 AIDS patients (unattended and segregated from the rest).

Josie, Clarissa and Moniqe had the incredible opportunity to encourage the women prisoners, and the Don and I shared the Good News with the male prisoners, including gifts of soup, soap and a guitar.

Yesterday we had visited the inmates, preached, distributed hygiene kits, and left them with a guitar (requested from our last visit in January).

On the West side of Lake Malawi is a Bay, and on the Bay is a prison with a beautiful view of the Lake. Inside were 100 male prisoners who we visited and brought them gifts of hope and encouragement in the form of 'soup', 'soap' and 'solidarity.'

We had to be a little sexist today and keep the girls in the background in the all male prison. The guards kept a watchful eye, but we all were amazed that the prisoners were not inclined to riot, take hostages or reject our presence. On the contrary, our visit was the social event of the year.

Don preached from John 6 about the feeding of the 5k, Dennis brought greetings, Trinity demonstrated how to use the donated tooth brushes and tooth pastes, and I served as emcee and facilitator of an incredible hour of sharing with these inmates. We sang, they sang, we passed out bars of soap--communion style. They had our nutritional soup to eat for lunch, wanted us to bring more. As Don said, "it doesn't get any better than this." Even in church.

Liberation Spirituality: Henri Nouwen and Gustavo Gutierrez in Dialogue

Liberation Spirituality: Henri Nouwen and Gustavo Gutierrez in Dialogue Lecture Notes: Presented by Michael J. Christensen, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Practice of Spirituality and Ministry, Drew University; and International Director, Communities of Shalom, The United Methodist Church Introduction “There is a little man in Peru, a man without any power, who lives in a barrio with poor people and who wrote a book. In this book he simply reclaimed the basic Christian truth that God became human to bring good news to the poor, new light to the blind, and liberty to the captives. Then years later this book and movement it started is considered a danger by [the USA, or Rome], the greatest power on earth. When I look at this little man, Gustavo, and think about [the President of the US, or the Pope], I see David standing before Goliath, again with no more weapon than a little stone, a stone called A The...

First Generation Lambs Club Reunion

Fifteen of us gathered Saturday night at the Lambs Club for a 35 th year reunion of those who helped start the Lamb’s Church in Times Square in the mid to late 1970’s, including: Rev. Paul S. Moore , Founder of the Lamb’s Church of the Nazarene, and his wife, Tamara Dr. Michael J. Christensen , charter member and former associate pastor, and his wife Dr. Rebecca Laird Fr. William (BJ) Webe r, former Associate Pastor and Director of the Lamb’s Residency, and his wife Sheila who lived at the Lamb’s Jim and Dustee Hullinger, who were on staff together and made the Lamb’s their home for over 25 years Effie Canepa , who was the church pianist under 3 pastors, and her husband Peter Shirley Close, who attended the Lamb’s in the late 1970’s while studying, performing and teaching music and voice Carl "Chappy" Valente , former associate pastor Rev. Bob DiQuatto , lead singer of the Church’s “Manhattan Project” and staff member of the Lamb’s, and his son Jason Rev. Gab...

Not Afraid of Death by Julia Esquivel

In reading your blog, Michael, I immediately think of these two poems is poem by Julia Esquivel, from Guatemala, whom I had the pleasure of meeting years ago. Un abrazo, Ada Maria I AM NOT AFRAID OF DEATH I am no longer afraid of death I know well Its dark and cold corridors Leading to life. I am afraid rather of that life Which does not come out of death, Which cramps our hands And slows our march. I am afraid of my fear And even more of the fear of others, Who do not know where they are going, Who continue clinging To what they think is life Which we know to be death! I live each day to kill death; I die each day to give birth to life, And in this death of death, I die a thousand times And am reborn another thousand Through that love From my People Which nourishes hope! THREATEN WITH RESURRECTION They have threatened us with Resurrection There is something here within us which doesn’t let us sleep, which doesn’t let us rest, which doesn’t stop the pounding deep inside. It is t...

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