Summary

The church is engaging in ministry to prisoners as never before. It has become evident that prison ministry is having a profound impact upon the life of the church and that the principles of Restorative Justice are not only for offenders and victims, but for anyone to live all of life as worship.

Listen Online

Download audio

Details

The church is engaging in ministry to prisoners as never before. Due to skyrocketing recidivism rates (75% of released inmates will return to crime within five years), it is blatantly obvious that our correctional centers do not correct and our reformatories do not reform. This societal crisis of enormous proportions has led to the emergence of the Restorative Justice movement as a way to repair the criminal justice system and to facilitate restoration and healing in collapsing communities. Along the way, however, it has become evident that prison ministry is having a profound impact upon the life of the church and that the principles of Restorative Justice are not only for offenders and victims, but for anyone to live all of life as worship.

Presented at the 2007 Calvin Symposium on Worship.

Recent Media Resources

Video Faith Formation Music/Song
Deeper Church: Preaching and Worship to Shape Us as Communities of Tenderness (A Jazz Homily)

An evening of music and spoken word with Mark Glanville, accompanied by a jazz trio, reflecting on how preaching and worship can form deeper churches in a post-Christian context.

July 8, 2026 | 78 min video
Video Planning Worship Psalms/Scripture
Seeing Christ in the Face of the Other: Singing the Psalms for Reconciliation with Karen Campbell

In 2020, the Presbyterian Church in Ireland published the book Considering Grace, which narrates the stories of 120 people and their proximity to the troubles in Northern Ireland. Though clergy were applauded for often acting as first responders to the victims, wider questions regarding the denomination were raised. Could they have spoken up more and been a prophetic voice? In response, the Presbyterian Church in Ireland commissioned Karen Campbell to convene groups to produce a suite of songs, prayers, and liturgies from the psalms of lament to be used in congregational settings to voice lament, confess complicity, and raise deeper questions surrounding justice. This workshop will discuss the process involved and the questions raised and will include some of the songs, liturgies, and prayers that were produced.In 2020, the Presbyterian Church in Ireland published the book Considering Grace, which narrates the stories of 120 people and their proximity to the troubles in Northern Ireland. Though clergy were applauded for often acting as first responders to the victims, wider questions regarding the denomination were raised. Could they have spoken up more and been a prophetic voice? 

June 29, 2026 | 87 min video