Residents Encounter Christ (REC) Prison Ministry
Residents Encounter Christ is an experience of Christian living and community for incarcerated prison residents. This is a prison ministry which was organized in 1999 to enable residents at prisons in Winnsboro, New Boston and Bonham to have a genuine encounter with the Great Love of Jesus Christ.
A team of Christians from St William Laud Episcopal Church and various other churches around north and east Texas and also from the DFW metroplex faithfully gather together to offer a safe, loving, and joyful opportunity for prison residents to truly encounter Jesus Christ as a part of their lives. As a multi-denominational ministry, the team concentrates on the positive and encouraging precepts of the teachings of Jesus Christ: AGAPE LOVE, GRACE, and FORGIVENESS. Talks given by the team reflect on our need for the healing Love of Jesus, and religious celebrations give opportunity to truly engage with the Living Lord.
While a prison resident is usually somewhat fearful of sharing deep spiritual needs with anyone else, the team’s desire to offer the friendship of Jesus promotes an environment for the resident to gain new insights and to experience sometimes for the first time a deep understanding of Christian community. R.E.C. is careful not to even suggest condemnation. More to the purpose of R.E.C. is a deep desire that each participating resident will truly encounter Jesus Christ as an essential part of his life with the sure hope of a new beginning and an appreciation that he is not alone.
St. William Laud Episcopal Church has been at the forefront in bringing R.E.C. to the prisons in NE Texas. Member Mike McCurry is the Executive Director of R.E.C. and he has been involved in the ministry since its inception some 18 years ago. Many other members of St. William Laud have been team members or baked cookies or committed to pray at specific times.
The myriad of details requires a lay director, a leader/coordinator who creates the team leadership. Some team members are chosen to give “talks” on the Weekend which highlight central topics essential for response, conversion, and commitment. These “talks” are really testimonials which reflect on the team member’s own personal encounters with the Risen Lord.
There are also team members who sit at tables for the whole Weekend with about 6 prison residents. Those table leaders facilitate the building up of trust at their assigned table by praying for their assigned pilgrims, and encouraging each participant to respond to each of the “talks”, thus building up a mini-community. No one is isolated. Each person is respected. And each table group is in turn a part of the greater community of the Weekend experience.
There are many other essential but not as highly visible team members required to make the Weekend a rich and rewarding experience for each resident/pilgrim. Music, food, and surprises all require a strong team and a clear spiritual focus. To ground and support team members and pilgrims alike are the clergy who have their own team.
R.E.C. is very similar to other “4th Day” retreats such as Cursillo and Walk to Emmaus. The concept is that over a three-day intensive retreat away from ordinary life, a pilgrim may experience a new life, and then carry on the new life beyond the three days into a so-called 4th day, that is, into eternity. R.E.C. is based on another international prison “4th Day” retreat ministry called Kairos which addresses the spiritual needs of incarcerated men, women, youth, and their families. Kairos had its origins in Cursillo, the original 4th day retreat, and as with R.E.C. most of the team members have experienced their own 4th day retreat with Cursillo or Walk to Emmaus.
The experience of R.E.C. has changed many lives over the past 18 years. Pilgrims and team members alike have deepened their commitment and trust in the Living Lord. And, the prison system has noted that prison residents are less likely to return to the prison system if they have participated in faith-based programs like R.E.C. In fact, units like the Johnston Unit in Winnsboro, a substance abuse facility (SAF-P), have noted a double digit drop in recidivism over the years.
Once an offender has a change of heart and hears God’s call to follow Him instead of the lonely path of destruction, he takes that commitment to Jesus home to family and friends. The Grace of God becomes like a domino effect and many people’s lives are changed.
“We will not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.” (1Cor15:51 ff)
