CWU Update:

Members At Fall Gathering, Chapter Offered World Community Day Worship Service

“Chrysalis at York Prison” was just one of the four workshops attended by Newtown residents Linda Manganaro and Darlene Jackson last month at the Fall Gathering 2007 of the Church Women United in Connecticut. The gathering was held at Niantic Community Church and explored the topic of “Reaching Out to Incarcerated Women.” The Reverend Laurie Etter, chaplain at York Correctional Institution, was keynote speaker, stressing the need for reform of the prison system as pertains to women.

“Most women inmates are in prison for addiction caused by loss or grief issues. They need rehabilitation, not retribution,” she said. “Many are middle-class women, who made a mistake or a series of mistakes. They love their children.”

Chrysalis is the cocoon of a butterfly that protects the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly. Appropriately the program so-named at York is an opportunity for women to grow in a relationship with God. Rev Etter initiated the program at York.

Chrysalis presenter was the Reverend Valerie Dixon, who explained that the program is faith-based and designed to find ways to substantially change or transform an inmate’s spirituality and basic orientation to life. It is a program for women that acknowledges that gender makes a difference; creates an environment based on safety, respect, and dignity; develops policies, practices, and programs that are relational and promote healthy connections to children, family, significant others, and the community; and addresses the issues of substance abuse, trauma, and mental health through comprehensive, integrated, and culturally relevant services.

Participants can be of any faith. The six-month program includes basic and advanced instruction led by institutional chaplains, program staff, and volunteers from various faiths. Practical parts of the program stress parenting and children, anger management, conflict resolution, problem solving, life skills, ministry of money, worship and celebration, and issues of faith and sexuality. 

Success of the program is the measured by the recidivism over a five-year period, which is under ten percent.

Prayer partners from communities outside the prison are an important part of the program and are encouraged. People interested in serving in this capacity can contact Rev Dixon at 860-691-1522.

Also, those women being released from York need clothing. Large sweat suits without hoods are needed. These can be purchased by the state for $10, so contributions of dollars would be helpful.

Another workshop during the Gathering was about STRIDE (Skills, Transition, Respect, Integrity, Direction, Employment), a state grant program using the six areas of concentration to assist a targeted group of incarcerated women, both pre- and postrelease from York. The programs work in collaboration with other state agencies to help women successfully re-nter the workforce upon release to reunited them with their children.

The recidivism rate for no entry program is 47 percent while the supervised program is 39 percent, but the STRIDE program rate of recidivism is 6 percent. This program operates within the Quinebaug Community College’s Center for Community and Professional Learning, and has helped about 400 women since it inception nine years ago.

Workshop Three was about The Barbara Fund, which provides money for college courses to inmates at York. In 2004 John and Bette Mahon lost their daughter, Barbara, when as an inmate sentenced to 40 years at York, she committed suicide.

At the request of the Mahons, donations were sent to A Sacred Place in lieu of flowers. Their daughter tutored other inmates in math and English, when she said there were no intellectual challenges in prison. The Mahons requested the donations be used as seed money to establish a degree-granting college program open to all inmates. The program is 100 percent funded by donations that are used to pay college costs, including salaries, student books, materials, and fees and works in conjunction with Three Rivers Community College.

Finally, a leadership training workshop was given by State Ecumenical Action Coordinator Lois Harwick. Participants were updated on legislative matters concerning women and children, furnished with letters and petitions to go to state and national representatives and senators.

On Friday, November 2, Church Women United-Newtown offered a worship service that saw one of the largest groups of attendees in recent memory. The Newtown unit of the ecumenical organization was joined by its Danbury counterparts in presenting a service that continued CWU’s 2007 theme of “Embracing Justice Under God’s Tent.”

Nearly 70 people gathered, first for dinner in The Great Room at Newtown Congregational Church and then for the service in the sanctuary of the West Street church. World Community Day is traditionally celebrated on or near the first Friday in November, and focuses on justice and peace in the global society.

In offering an introduction and welcoming remarks, CWU-Newtown Unit President Darlene Jackson reminded those gathered that as people of faith, “we are called to look at the issues facing women today and determine where we, too, can be instruments of comfort and solace.”

The service was written by the Reverend Kristina Peterson and the Reverend Kathleen Clark, members of the CWU National Celebrations Committee. It was presented locally members of the Newtown and Danbury units, who have collaborated well on past worship services.

Following dinner but before everyone moved into the sanctuary, Jeannette Mayer of CWU-Danbury offered a brief presentation on the Fellowship of the Least Coin. Ms Mayer then continued to participate in the evening when she served as the song leader during the worship service.

June Ginand, a members of CWU-Danbury, was the organist for the evening. She was joined by Michelle Weinstein for the playing of “Here I Am Lord” during the evening’s offering. The offering on November 2 will help CWU to continue to work on the seven social issues that comprise the movement’s national priority, “Strengthening Families Worldwide in the 21st Century,” through ministries of peace and justice.

Ms Weinstein was also one of the evening’s readers, as were Barb Gates, Norma Gray, Darlene Jackson, Sue Klein, Anne Orr, Carol Polverari, and Elizabeth Ricci. Linda Manganaro organized the local worship service, and also offered the Invocation.

The Reverend Matthew Crebbin, the new senior minister at Newtown Congregational Church, was the speaker for the celebration. His sermon, following the suggestions of the national celebrations committee, was called “Breaking Open the Word.” In it he lifted concerns of homelessness, immigration, and responses to disaster based on familiar scriptures and Psalms. He also paralleled the worries and concerns of strangers in a new land to his own life recently.

“When [program chair] Linda Manganaro told me what my theme was for this evening’s sermon I thought she was kidding,” said Rev Crebbin, who moved with his family from Hancock, N.H., to Newtown just three months ago.

His sermon opened with selections from the first letter of Peter, words that were spoken to those in Asia Minor (Chapter 2:11), which offered encouragement to communities of gentiles. He spoke of immigration and exiles, treating strangers with hospitality, of being on the receiving end of that hospitality, and feeling happy but not yet at home. He also spoke of being theologically and spiritually in tune, and what it means to be people on the move.

The service’s meditation, called “We Have Names,” described those who have been resident aliens in strange lands, wanderers throughout history, those who have been exiled and uprooted, and remnants in society, yesterday and today.

Special guests that evening included the Reverend Janice Touloukian, the associate pastor of Newtown Congregational Church; the Reverend James and Anne Solomon, the pastor and his wife from New Hope Community Church; and the Reverend Bryn Smallwood-Garcia, senior pastor at The Congregational Church of Brookfield.