“Now I have Friends”
On a warm evening in June 2008 a group of people gathered at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church for the monthly Friends of Dismas meeting. This turned out to be a different kind of session as an ex-prisoner named Gordie was joining the group to tell his life story. He held the parishioners gathered spellbound as he told of a childhood of abuse and neglect that led him to make many bad choices in life.
After spending almost all his adult life in prison he came out on parole 4 years ago and for the first time met people in the community that were willing to walk with him. Gordie shared that if he had of died 5 years ago no one would have come to his funeral but this has changed and he knows people would be there for him and to remember him because in his own words he says- “Now I have friends.”
The vision for the Friends of Dismas is to build a community of hope by engaging people of faith in creative ministry to those touched by crime. Those touched by crime include victims, offenders, families and communities.
With this in mind, the Friends of Dismas offers individuals and faith communities three ways to help according to their gifts and graces they have received and these are the Ministry of Prayer, the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Friendship.
The Ministry of Prayer is foundational to the work of the Friends of Dismas. The objective of this part of the ministry is to provide members of the community with a meaningful, low risk level of association that serves as direct spiritual support for individuals touched by crime. There are currently 40+ prayerful people involved in this important work.
The Ministry of Works programs engage volunteers in providing material gifts that provide ex-prisoners and their families with support and assists with practical reintegration efforts. Some examples of these Ministry of Works undertaken over this past year include:
Ø School Back Pack for children of Women Ex-prisoners- thanks to the Social Justice Ministry at St. Patrick’s Parish, 30 children of women ex-prisoners got a much need boost to start the new school year;
Ø The Christmas Basket program for Families of Women ex-prisoners resulted in 35 Friends of Dismas families being touched the kindness of others this Christmas;
Ø The Tuesday Community Dinner at Keele Program was supported by over 100 people in the faith community that have helped by providing casseroles and desserts for the men at the Keele Centre.
The Ministry of Friendship represents the most significant level of involvement and commitment for a person of faith as it involves walking with another as they journey through difficult times. After partaking in the appropriate level of training volunteers walk with another person either one to one, or as part of a Circle of Support offering friendship as that person works to re-build their lives.
We are looking to expand the Friends of Dismas ministry into new faith communites in the year ahead. Two additional groups are in the early stages and we are prepared to work with small faith based groups interested in meeting to share in prayer, works and friendship with those touched by crime.
Please e-mail us at: friendsofdismas@gmail.com and we will be in touch with you to talk about this exciting opportunity.