Wednesday, February 20, 2019

The Restoration Series

One subject that has never come up on my blog before today:  prisons.

It is a subject that occasionally comes up in my life though.  Not that I plan to go into a lot of detail on my blog, but there have been a couple of individuals in my life who I met after they got out of prison, while they were trying to get back into life on the outside.

That isn't easy, usually for a whole lot of reasons.  Lots of reasons that most of us don't think about.  Prison Fellowship has put out a fascinating documentary, The Restoration Series: Jonathan's Walk

You can watch the first part below.  It's not quite five minutes.  Come on, you have five minutes.

Watch it.





One of the ministries that my church supports is helping women to get integrated back into society after they have been released from prison.  Listening to Marilyn, who runs this ministry, speak about these women -- and meeting some of them, too -- has been eye-opening for me as well.



About the series:


For years, Jonathan has been in prison. As a result, he has missed milestone
moments with his family. He wasn’t there for his daughter’s first day of school or a thousand little experiences with his wife and as a father, he is devastated to be separated from those he loves most.

Jonathan has been looking forward to his release from prison for over a decade. So many life events have been missed and he is now ready to be with his wife and kids again. Of course, this transition isn't going to be easy. The odds are against him: with over half of prisoners returning to prison within two years, Jonathan is aware of the challenge set before him.

Still, he is determined to take the skills he has learned into the world outside of incarceration and stay there, helping build the community that he is part of for years to come.

Prison Fellowship presents The Restoration Series: Jonathan’s Walk, a 5-part documentary film series following one man as he re-enters his community after 15 years in prison. It demonstrates in imagery, powerful storytelling and social interaction what it means to be human and the shared need of all people to see communities restored.

Though America is home to only 4% of the world's population, we house more than 20% of its prisoners. Recidivism–the tendency of a criminal to reoffend—is out of control. The Restoration Series tells the story of men and women who have experienced The Academy, a revolutionary in-prison program that is combatting incarceration and recidivism head on.


Go check it out.  The Restoration Series.



“Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255:  “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”):  Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway.  Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation.  I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.