This occasional series, Link of the Day, features links already on my sidebar or sites I've discovered in my internet travels. Fran over at St. Edward Parish Blog recently tipped me to Finding Grace Within written by Shannon who commented on this page just today under Burying the Alleluia.This brief description from Shannon's profile reveals the venue from which she writes and her perspective as well:
I'm a prison chaplain in this, my third career. I've always been fascinated by the intersection between spirituality and the whole of life. There have been times I felt like I was standing on a corner, waiting for God to show up. God showed up, but never in ways I expected. Going to prison was a surprise.
A decade ago it was my privilege for a couple of years to volunteer an afternoon a month at the Essex County House of Correction. While that experience lends to my appreciation of Shannon's posts, any reader will recognize in her stories and insights the surprising ways God shows up in our lives.
Check out, Finding Grace Within, which now has a place on my sidebar.
I am so glad that you posted the link to Finding Grace Within. You and your readers will find some remarkable posting at Shannon's blog.
ReplyDeleteWhere Shannon works - and what she writes about, is a "thin place" I think and you will be sure to encounter grace each time you read her words.
I've been friends with Shannon for years through the marvels of the internet and am a huge fan of her blog. Glad Fran referred you to it and you put it on your blogroll. Shannon is a gifted minister and writer. She doesn't blog often, but when she does write, ah!
ReplyDeleteFran, yes, you are so right. Grace abounds in Shannon's words and in her ministry.
I have been thinking, as I do every so often, on the part of Matthew 25 that speaks of feeding the hungry and clothing the naked, and of course it also includes visiting the imprisoned. Millions in our nation live in prisons and it is all too easy to forget the or to strip them, mentally and spiritually, of the dignity they have as children of God. Shannon's writing about her prison chaplaincy speaks to me of the Gospel, and calls me not to forget our brothers (in her prison) and sisters behind the walls.
Thanks for the link to Finding Grace Within. I so enjoyed reading her words. People are always surprised at the amount of "grace" you find in a prison system. I understand completely when she says she is the lucky one who gets to see God especially when she hears the comments "you bring Jesus to those poor people". When I volunteered in prison it often was those "poor people" who brought Jesus to me.
ReplyDeletewell, I am blown away and graced. Thank you so much for the kind words and the amazing prayer support--because I know you can't help but pray once you hear or read the stories.
ReplyDelete