It’s Thursday evening, and I walk through the double doors of the school building to enter the gym. It’s a walk I’ve made every day for seventeen years -over six thousand times- but certain moments can tear our veil of perception, and spaces we knew transform forever because our whole way of seeing changes.
It’s Thursday evening, and I’m clapping my hands and singing songs of praise to the Lord with dozens and dozens of other men. Before attending the Keryx weekend, I had never prayed in a large group, never actively shared my renewed faith with multiple others at once, never was much for group religious activities at all. But Keryx will break you of that, just as God can break us of all bad habits.
Entering the gym was like entering a moving hallway of hands and smiles. Countless others reaching out, calling me by name, shaking my hand and patting me on the back. Some of the men in line ahead of me were shook, as this does not happen in prison, at least normally. But they were here, and we were here in a place that looked like the gym I had known while simultaneously appearing completely different. There was something in the air, something tangible. I liked it, though the man directly ahead of me didn’t seem more overwhelmed than anything.
The gym was divided in two by a sliding wall. Making to the other side, we were each shown to a table, where volunteers from the outside greeted us. I was shown to the Family Table of Ezra, where Chuck, Steven, and Paul all shook my hand and introduced themselves. Paul, who looked so much like my late grandfather, was my sponsor. Altogether the table sat nine, three volunteers and the six incarcerated men they sponsored. I had never met any of these men before, but by the end of the three-and-a-half-day weekend they all felt like family.
Keryx is a Greek word for the herald or messenger. Based on similar religious revivals across the world like Cursillo, Kairos, Emmaus Walk, and Via de Christo, Keryx is a retreat unlike anything else within prison walls. A new world is brought into what is normally a dark place. Jesus made blind men see, healed the sick, and today is transforming thousands of lives in prisons throughout Michigan.
I had the immense privilege of attending Keryx weekend #6 at Thumb Correctional Facility (hundreds of Keryx weekends have been done at other prisons in the state). From 6:30 in the morning until 8:30 at night, I spent three days (and another half day) together with my group, and our larger group of eighty men, listening to talks from volunteers from all walks of life, discussing various topics around our table, participating in praise and worship, singing, and hearing sermons. We laughed as we participated in group activities together and got to know each other. We opened up about our lives as our sponsors opened up about theirs… something that doesn’t often happen in prison.
The discussions at the tables drew everyone together. Our outside sponsors talked about their lives, their joys and their deepest regrets. The normal non-incarcerated people I interact with on a daily basis -staff- are prohibited from talking about themselves. In this air of trust, we all shared our own worries, fears, wishes and regrets, and found many of them to resonate with everyone there. The volunteers encouraged us to hold on to faith in God as we restructured our lives, and my sponsor put his arm around me as I spoke. For the first time in over half of my life, I cried in front of others in prison.
In this room full of former and current tough guys, gangsters, killers and thugs, there was almost no one who didn’t break down in tears at some point. Most tried to hide it, but there was no place to hide. And once they saw they were safe and accepted in the love of Christ, the atmosphere of the room changed over the course of the three and a half days. This prison gym that I had walked to over six thousand times glowed with a spirit that I had never felt inside prison before. It was as though it was consecrated. Now, it is no longer the prison gym. It’s the Keryx room that I shoot pool and workout in when Keryx meetings are not being held.
We ate all of our meals there, with delicious snacks in between. The food was a big draw in getting people to sign up for Keryx. Many atheists, agnostics, Muslims, Buddhists, and pagans signed up for the Keryx weekend retreat solely because of the food.
The Keryx ministry knew this, and some of the delicious food was for this reason… because once these men were there, they experienced something so much better and more fulfilling than food. Every man there was accepted as they came and came to know the power of a love that transcends all boundaries, a love that only comes from above.
This love does not dissipate after the weekend is over. Keryx ministry is alive throughout the year at weekly Thursday meetings where everyone who has ever attended a Keryx weekend anywhere in the state is welcome. Seven volunteers come to the prison each week for fellowship and to keep the spirit strong. About seventy incarcerated men attend these weekly worship and small group sessions for what is the highlight of many of our weeks. These men are the ones who’ve had their lives changed by Keryx ministries and who keep the spirit moving inside.
Everyone holds hands as we pray together at the end of each session. Young and old, strong and disabled all stand together with heads bowed as Brother Cody reads from our communal prayer list. Our hearts are laid bare before each other and God, and, if you were to stand in the gym and listen, you would hear praises and pleas for help for healing and salvation of loved ones.
I had my life changed by Keryx: today I sing, praise, and thrive in worship groups. I am more able to bring a message of hope and love to others. My loved ones love to talk to me more, and I see blessings in every day.
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