And we know that all things work together for good to those who
love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Romans 8:28 (NKJV)
It's been about three years since the virus known as Covid showed its ugly face...
love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Romans 8:28 (NKJV)
It's been about three years since the virus known as Covid showed its ugly face...
It arrived with much fear. The world was in a panic. And the nation's prison systems were especially unnerved by Covid's coming, as those who are forced to live in close quarters tend to get viruses like the flu very quickly.
But as a result of the fear that Covid first created, and the uncertainty it would cause, at least here in New York State, prison officials along the State's governing body ordered that visits from family and friends be discontinued. Also, that all civilian volunteers be barred from coming into our correctional facilities until further notice.
So almost immediately New York's prisons stopped all our volunteers from coming in from tutoring and teaching, to include the professors who came in to teach college. Included in this were our religious volunteers. The lay ministers and pastors of local churches who'd been coming into prisons to conduct worship services and Bible studies were now shut out.
Thus, for those such as myself who looked forward to seeing our volunteers, some weekly and some monthly, in an instant they were gone. So for now we were on our own. And this would last for at least two years. While in addition to this, we had an ailing chaplain who had serious health issues and was frequently absent, often for weeks at a time.
This left us, the church behind the walls, having to ask the universal question: "What would Jesus do?" Well, He did a lot. And He did it quickly.
As we sought the Lord in prayer, He showed us of the need to raise up amongst ourselves men who could take oversight of our worship services and Bible studies. Thus, for some of us, it was time to "step to the plate" and to move into positions of leadership and ministry.
This, I believe, was all part of God's plan. For those who had faithfully sat under the teachings of our volunteers, it was now time for them to teach. While others took on the task of upkeep. The guys started to repair worn out but still usable Bibles. Still others joined the choir as we needed singers to replace the songs our guests once sang, and to learn new songs, too.
We no longer had the availability of our chaplain, as well. Due to poor health, he was seldom around. So I and the other men who were experienced elders took over some of his tasks, with some restrictions and limitations, of course. He was an employee, and we weren't. But thankfully the prison's administration trusted us to fill these roles and positions, and by the grace of God, we did.
All told, the Lord used the Covid lockdown to make use of the various gifts that He'd already given us, and to use them for the "work of the ministry." And once again, everything worked out well, thus confirming His promise that in the end, no matter how bad things may look at the beginning, with God in charge the end will always be good.
D.B.
But as a result of the fear that Covid first created, and the uncertainty it would cause, at least here in New York State, prison officials along the State's governing body ordered that visits from family and friends be discontinued. Also, that all civilian volunteers be barred from coming into our correctional facilities until further notice.
So almost immediately New York's prisons stopped all our volunteers from coming in from tutoring and teaching, to include the professors who came in to teach college. Included in this were our religious volunteers. The lay ministers and pastors of local churches who'd been coming into prisons to conduct worship services and Bible studies were now shut out.
Thus, for those such as myself who looked forward to seeing our volunteers, some weekly and some monthly, in an instant they were gone. So for now we were on our own. And this would last for at least two years. While in addition to this, we had an ailing chaplain who had serious health issues and was frequently absent, often for weeks at a time.
This left us, the church behind the walls, having to ask the universal question: "What would Jesus do?" Well, He did a lot. And He did it quickly.
As we sought the Lord in prayer, He showed us of the need to raise up amongst ourselves men who could take oversight of our worship services and Bible studies. Thus, for some of us, it was time to "step to the plate" and to move into positions of leadership and ministry.
This, I believe, was all part of God's plan. For those who had faithfully sat under the teachings of our volunteers, it was now time for them to teach. While others took on the task of upkeep. The guys started to repair worn out but still usable Bibles. Still others joined the choir as we needed singers to replace the songs our guests once sang, and to learn new songs, too.
We no longer had the availability of our chaplain, as well. Due to poor health, he was seldom around. So I and the other men who were experienced elders took over some of his tasks, with some restrictions and limitations, of course. He was an employee, and we weren't. But thankfully the prison's administration trusted us to fill these roles and positions, and by the grace of God, we did.
All told, the Lord used the Covid lockdown to make use of the various gifts that He'd already given us, and to use them for the "work of the ministry." And once again, everything worked out well, thus confirming His promise that in the end, no matter how bad things may look at the beginning, with God in charge the end will always be good.
D.B.
