A few weeks ago, I had the great fortune of living in an intentional community in Georgia called Jubilee Partners, and there I found a type of community that I had never experienced before or even thought existed. Everyone truly wanted to be present, and nobody, not even strangers, were left alone. It seemed to me that this state of community may be similar to the early church in Acts, the way I think churches are meant to be.
The most significant experience I had at Jubilee was witnessing their acceptance and love toward those who were on death row. Death row is about as far removed from most churches as possible, resting firmly on the edges of society as they wait for the day of their execution. Most of the United States seems to be content to forget them, but not the people at Jubilee.
Jubilee works closely to those on death row, visiting them, remembering them, and offering them a community which many have not had the opportunity to experience in years. Every month, members of the community go to visit and build relationships with the men and women in prison.
At Jubilee, a sign of simple card stock with a picture of a man, his name, the list of his victims, and the date of his execution was placed in the middle of the other papers announcing the activities of the week. This sign was not something that called attention to itself, but it did not hide, and no one over the course of the week took it down or tried to cover it up. Those at Jubilee did not ignore the crimes this man had committed, but they acknowledged him and his life.
You see, Jubilee gives humanity and grace to those who arguably shouldn’t deserve it by human standards. A cemetery stands on Jubilee grounds, surrounded by trees deep in the forest, and within it lies past members of Jubilee and fifteen executed men. If members of death row do not want to be buried in the prison yard or their families refuse to take their body, Jubilee offers places in their own cemetery. Standing in that cemetery I felt as though I had failed those men through not knowing them. I did not know of their life, and if I had seen them on the news, I would have forgotten the next minute. How many other people do I do that to?
The crimes these men on death row have committed are horrific and should not be ignored, but neither should we ignore the people behind those crimes. Churches need to reach out to work with those in prison, even those who have murdered or committed other terrible crimes.
Christianity was never meant to be a religion for the powerful. Jesus and his message meant to bring hope to the captives, bring sight to the blind, and to bless those who are persecuted. Those in our prison systems, even those on death row, and perhaps especially those, deserve grace. While it might be difficult, Christianity calls to all, but especially those who are on the fringes of society. Who is the Church to ignore the words of God? What defines the strength of a community is its interaction and acceptance of strangers and those who society has left behind.
