Chelsea and I have been attending the Gethsemane Presbyterian Church in our neighborhood this year. This is a small "mission" congregation supported by the Presbytery which is oriented toward support of people "in the prison system," especially women who have been incarcerated, who are incarcerated, or have incarcerated loved ones. This is a rather large populated since the US has by far the largest prison population in the world in absolute numbers and on a per capita basis. I consider this to be a failure of our society (in spite of our focus on "freedom and liberty" as President Bush puts it). This picture is of the children waiting patiently to receive their Christmas gifts, which are in bags on the tables in the background. They even had gifts for Caleb since I had mentioned that my first grandchild had been born. One of the people living with us is recently out of "real" prison upstate, and I have made many trips to Rikers Island Jail in New York City to take clothing to friends who have been arrested. I feel uncomfortable with all this, but I also believe that our society must give new chances to people who have served their time. These children had nothing to do with the fact that their parents have run afoul of the law.
Rhona McMahan