Sabbath Road

Tuesday began in the rain - and ended in the rain.  Following breakfast, in Plenary we heard an address by Vicki Shearer.  Here daughter Shannonwas raped and murdered on May 7, 1998 while finishing her first year of graduate school on a full scholarship at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.  Shannon’s killer was not arrested until 2002. He is serving several life sentences without parole in Colorado and Pennsylvania not only for Shannon’s rape and murder but for 13 other sexual assaults as well. In a very emotional account filled with details about errors the police made and the way that the criminal justice system re-victimized her and her family she told her story and Shannon's story.  She has taught many high school and university classes on abolition, run workshops at state conferences, and published op-ed pieces in newspapers including the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Washington Post.  She also has met with and testified before state...

It's been a long day... in order to beat the traffic through Portland I left the Shalom Centre at 6AM arriving at Columbia River Correctional Institution (CRCI) at 7:30AM as advised by Chaplain Larry Bowen. I was greeted at the front gate by a staff member in a control pod who let me into the sally port.  From there I was allowed to enter the yard proper where I exchanged my drivers licence for an ID Tag.  An officer processed me through the metal detector and by this time Larry had arrived. The tour of CRCI did not take long.  The facility is basically one long hallway (nicely flooded by sunlight) off of which program offices, classrooms and shops and other administrative spaces come on the main floor.  And on the second floor 800 men are housed dormitory style on bunk beds.  Each inmate has a foot locker and may purchase a TV from the canteen.  The TV (6" LCD) is mounted on the end of their bed on a pole and they may watch it...

This morning I visited the Dome, home to the Department of Correction for the State of Oregon.  I was wondering where to park my bike and I saw only one other bike in the area: parked in an area marked off with orange cones.  I headed over there and along the way asked a guy if it was okay to park there.  He informed me "that green bike is there everyday so shouldn't be any issue... but don't quote me!"  As I was taking off my gear the owner of the green bike came along and we had a great chat.  Ron Leader (I think I have that right) is with the Investigations Branch, and when I told him where I was from and what I was doing we launched into a deep discussion about the terribly wrong direction Canada was heading.  It was refreshing to hear someone from the Operational side of the house acknowledge that locking people up doesn't solve much! The plan for today was to meet with three members of the Oregon Department of Corrections Religious Services Administ...

The day began at 5:30 AM with a coffee and a crumpet and a hug from Irene.  In short order I was on the road and quickly off the 401 zigging and zagging on some of the best roads Ontario has to offer.  Why people spend so much time on the 401 is beyond me!! Skirting around Guelph I dropped into Fergus and rode down the main drag.  Fergus was the site of the 35th General Coucil of the United Church of Canada in August of 1994.  I must admit that the Scottish in me was tickled by this sign.  What a pleasant town!  Yellow brick seems to have a charm all its own.  And if it had of been a little later in the day I am sure I would have had to stop at the pub!! More zigs and zags - no straight lines here = something like life I thought as I rode...  we seem to think that the most direct route from point "a" to point "b" is the best one... high school, university, job, family... and so on and so on... but life doesn't happen in linear fashion.  W...

I have some time this morning so I will offer an entry now and then enjoy the rest of Canada Day and the long weekend, only to post again on the evening of the 4th which will be the eve of my departure. Last night saw us gather as Chaplaincy community to install Rick Burk to the position of Director General, Chaplaincy Branch, receive the work of the declaration committee and officially end the CSC stream of this event. The service was over two hours long and in my humble opinion tried to do a few too many things in the time allotted.  The trio of musicians really added to the service and it was encouraging to see so many chaplains recognized for their years of service by the IFC.  I stumbled a bit over the liturgical appropriateness of an installation service when Rick was selected according to the Human Resources policies and procedures of the Civil Service... but that's just my stuff.  The words of Covenant offered by Rick were encouraging ...

“How does one become a butterfly?” she asked pensively. “You must want to fly so much that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar.” ~ Trina Paulus This morning saw me head to Springhill as if it was a regular workday.  Over the weekend I received a call from the partner of a man I had the privilege of working with over a number of years.  He was having a difficult time and needed some support and encouragement.  My supervisors within CSC approved my going to visit him so I headed to the Institution, did some paperwork and then headed to Halifax about 9AM. Along the way I called Clarence Deschiffart who facilitates the Kairos Marathon program and inquired about meeting for lunch before my other meeting. Clarence informed me that he was meeting with Tracey Demmons, Director of the Charles Taylor Centre for Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care and invited me to come along.  We had a delightful vegetarian lunch at Satisfaction Feast on Robie Stre...