May 2018 News
May 4, 2018 - Uncategorized
We were grateful for the opportunity to engage with 70 attendees at the “Speaking of Restorative Justice: What Shall We Do?” forum held on Sunday, April 29, from 2-4 p.m. Thank you to the presenters and participants: Arend Vander Pols, Chair of Prisoners in Christ; Jan Gockerman, Vice-President, Restorative Justice Coalition of W. MI; Carol Rienstra, President, Restorative Justice Coalition of W. MI; Chris Becker, Prosecuting Attorney, Kent County, John Cooper, Policy Director, Citizens Alliance on Prisons and Public Spending, Phil Skaggs, Kent County Commissioner and Staff for State Representative David LaGrand;Troy Rienstra, Outreach Director, Citizens Alliance on Prisons and Public Spending; and Rev. Rich Rienstra, Pastor for Reentry & Restorative Justice Ministries, Prisoners in Christ at Church of the Servant. A special thanks to Girbe Eefsting, Sean, Dawan and Tony for videotaping, and to Kenny Westrate for helping with the set-up.
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Members of the Prisoners in Christ Team – Judy Bredeweg, Nancy Knol, Lucie Marsden, Carol Rienstra, Rich Rienstra, Troy Rienstra, Vincent Schumacher, Arend Vander Pols, Andy Vroon – are engaged in a variety of efforts and encourage other members and friends of Church of the Servant to ask any one of us about the following possible involvements:
* Linking to organizations and institutions, along with their members, who are committed to criminal justice reform through education, relationship, and action. Currently, our partners include The Micah Center, www.themicahcenter.org Christian Community Development Association www.ccda.org, the Restorative Justice Coalition of West Michigan www.restorativejusticewmi.org, Safe & Just Michigan (formerly CAPPS) http://2015capps.capps-mi.org
Michigan League for Public Policy, http://www.mlpp.org/
Michigan Collaborative to End Mass Incarceration, www.michigancollaborative.org and Citizens for Prison Reform. www.micpr.org
*Life Change Book Group at R.A. Handlon Correctional Facility in Ionia, working alongside Calvin Prison Initiative and Celebration Fellowship congregation.
*Support for Women and Children Affected by Crime and Incarceration, including giving Christmas gifts on behalf of a parent in prison and a summer camping program, inspired and assisted by Prison Fellowship Angel Tree, Coit Church & The Rock, and Our Sisters.
* CONTACT (Celebrating Our Network of Trust, Accountability, Collaboration and Training) reentry support, in partnership with 70X7 Life Recovery, CLEAR (Coalition for Leadership, Education, Advice and Rehabilitation), Living Water Ministry Network and First Christian Reformed Church.
* Network for Real Change statewide restorative justice and entrepreneurship development, affiliated with Safe & Just Michigan, and learning from the Bail Disruption Project, Detroit Justice Center, and more.