July 14, 2006 

Dear Editor:

I am a prisoner in the MDOC, and I want to say something about the KAIROS experience!

Cursillo is a revitalization movement within the mainline Christian churches. Some churches have revivals in order to bring new life into peoples' religious journeys. We Episcopalians accomplish the same objective by going on retreats. Cursillo (literally, Spanish for "short course") is a three-day retreat giving its participants a short course in Christianity

KAIROS is the prison version of Cursillo.

I first went to KAIROS #1 at Unit 29 at Parchman in 1993 or 1994. One description of the KAIROS organization at Parchman is that of a community: everybody knows everybody else; everybody helps everybody; and everybody is working toward a common goal.

That common goal is to build the kingdom of heaven among us, in ways like offering our neighbor basic human dignity; meeting our spiritual, material and emotional needs; and, if possible, gaining release from prison.

A large number of the freeworld people in KAIROS at Parchman told us over and over that our version of Christianity was more authentic than the brand of Christianity they encountered in their churches in the freeworld. Many freeworld people expressed the deep sense of satisfaction that they experienced in KAIROS. The word got out, and the community grew; and, with this growth came a sense of spiritual prosperity.

The freeworld people initially would tell us, "I want to help you attain spiritual freedom, but I won't help you in any other way." I always had a problem with that. The book of James teaches about a brand of Christianity that tells a cold, hungry person to "be fed and be warmed," yet does not offer any means of warmth or nourishment.

I also had a problem with the freeworld people who thought KAIROS would be a feel-good experience where they could take satisfaction in helping the poor without getting their metaphorical hands dirty: all the while enjoying the best seats in the freeworld prayer breakfasts and being warmly greeted at the super markets. Prison is a study in raw life, and such people quickly had their wake-up calls.

The only thing the prisoners have to offer is our need; and this is a deep human need for forgiveness, for reconciliation, and for validation of our self-worth. These are needs of all humans, but, in prisoners, perhaps the need is more apparently intense!