Every correctional facility is fraught with danger, and no part of any facility is exempt...
Not even the chapel. Prison is an unpredictable environment.
This morning my chaplain had a close call when, during the closing minutes of our worship service, an irate inmate known for his propensity to violence and having recently lost his mother to an untimely death, stormed towards the podium where my chaplain was standing. He then stood before the chaplain, fists clenched in defiance, and began to berate and yell at the minister.
From my vantage point by the back door, which is some thirty feet away, I could see his veins popping out along the sides of his neck. It was an extremely tense situation. My chaplain stood quietly with his head bowed in a show of humility, which I believe was very wise in such a volatile atmosphere.
This inmate, who is doing a life sentence for a brutal homicide, lashed out ferociously. He stood in front of the entire congregation accusing my chaplain of not caring enough about his loss, or of praying enough when this mother unexpectedly took sick.
No one wanted to see this prisoner become violent. I was praying. All the ushers and elders of the church began to pray. I know my chaplain was silently praying too, and I am glad that he was!
Our visitor, Reverend Benjamin Mackey, a former drug addict back in the 1970's but now an honest family man and evangelist, who comes into my facility one Sunday morning per month to preach, was also watching this unfold; he too was praying.
After a loud tirade which lasted about four minutes---although it felt like twenty--this inmate made an abrupt about-face, marched up the center aisle, and barged out the door, still in a rage. Then for about one minute after this man's departure, there was an almost dead silence except for the whispering voices of men in prayer.
Finally, my chaplain broke the silence when he asked us to join him in prayer for this person. We did so, even though he had already left the building. I know that many of us understood this mourning man's grief. He lost his mother, and he was not able to be at her side. He is angry at God. But of course, God did not take his mom; sickness did.
Nevertheless, my chaplain will be required to file a report of this incident, and he probably already has. None of us want to see this prisoner punished and penalized. Yet he was out of control and he did make threatening gestures. He also said many cruel and unkind words to an anointed man of God. My Chaplain is a New York State employee, and it is against the law, not to mention a serious violation of prison rules, to verbally threaten with violence and to intimidate an employee.
God was with my chaplain, however. We were all thankful for the Lord's divine protection. It was almost as if an invisible barrier formed between the chaplain and this enraged individual. This man has bulging muscles. He is a weightlifter, and he plays on a football team. He could have hurt my chaplain severely.
Surely God was in control, and He always is.
D. B.
This morning my chaplain had a close call when, during the closing minutes of our worship service, an irate inmate known for his propensity to violence and having recently lost his mother to an untimely death, stormed towards the podium where my chaplain was standing. He then stood before the chaplain, fists clenched in defiance, and began to berate and yell at the minister.
From my vantage point by the back door, which is some thirty feet away, I could see his veins popping out along the sides of his neck. It was an extremely tense situation. My chaplain stood quietly with his head bowed in a show of humility, which I believe was very wise in such a volatile atmosphere.
This inmate, who is doing a life sentence for a brutal homicide, lashed out ferociously. He stood in front of the entire congregation accusing my chaplain of not caring enough about his loss, or of praying enough when this mother unexpectedly took sick.
No one wanted to see this prisoner become violent. I was praying. All the ushers and elders of the church began to pray. I know my chaplain was silently praying too, and I am glad that he was!
Our visitor, Reverend Benjamin Mackey, a former drug addict back in the 1970's but now an honest family man and evangelist, who comes into my facility one Sunday morning per month to preach, was also watching this unfold; he too was praying.
After a loud tirade which lasted about four minutes---although it felt like twenty--this inmate made an abrupt about-face, marched up the center aisle, and barged out the door, still in a rage. Then for about one minute after this man's departure, there was an almost dead silence except for the whispering voices of men in prayer.
Finally, my chaplain broke the silence when he asked us to join him in prayer for this person. We did so, even though he had already left the building. I know that many of us understood this mourning man's grief. He lost his mother, and he was not able to be at her side. He is angry at God. But of course, God did not take his mom; sickness did.
Nevertheless, my chaplain will be required to file a report of this incident, and he probably already has. None of us want to see this prisoner punished and penalized. Yet he was out of control and he did make threatening gestures. He also said many cruel and unkind words to an anointed man of God. My Chaplain is a New York State employee, and it is against the law, not to mention a serious violation of prison rules, to verbally threaten with violence and to intimidate an employee.
God was with my chaplain, however. We were all thankful for the Lord's divine protection. It was almost as if an invisible barrier formed between the chaplain and this enraged individual. This man has bulging muscles. He is a weightlifter, and he plays on a football team. He could have hurt my chaplain severely.
Surely God was in control, and He always is.
D. B.
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