PCF's May eBulletin

May 2026

A rhythm of gentle returns

Dear friend,

There's a rhythm to contemplative life – a rhythm I've come to know is trustworthy, even in the moments where actual trust feels out of reach. Perhaps it’s best described as a pattern of ever-so-gentle returns interspersed with what James Finley calls holy “slippage.” Taken together, this ebb and flow carries the whole arc of a practice, and of a community. Often we don't see what's been forming until we look back – or maybe not even then. In the Wednesday evening “OTW and friends” Zoom Centering Prayer group we talked at length this past week about how often it is others who are better able to recognize the change our practice is bringing about in us. Part of the joy of sharing the journey is pausing to share stories that appreciate, with a bit of wonder, how much has actually unfolded.

This month we're featuring three pieces in that spirit:

A look at COPOST, on the occasion of its fifth anniversary
A question about the "spirituality of incarceration"
An invitation to a workshop on the Enneagram and Centering Prayer

A bit on each below... And before we get there: a heartfelt thank you to everyone who gave in April. We have received a total of $710 — doubled, that becomes $1,420 — which will cover about 2 months' worth of Finding God Within to be sent directly to residents. We're delighted to share that the matching opportunity has been extended through May.

With gratitude,

Chandra Hanson, Executive Director

on behalf of the Prison Contemplative Fellowship (dba Praestolari) team

Five years of showing up together

This month marks five years since COPOST — Contemplative Outreach's Prison Outreach Service Team — was established. Read more about the story of how it came to be and how PCF/Praestolari and COPOST work together to build community and accompany practitioners inside and outside the walls.

Read the full story

What does “a spirituality of incarceration” mean to you?

For nearly fifteen years I've been bumping up against a paradox: how is it that the loss of physical freedom can open wide, for some, the door to profound spiritual freedom? Why do my friends inside the walls often seem to have better access to the radical trust at the heart of contemplative practice? I tried to put some words to it in a new piece on the blog and would love for you to join the conversation.

Read the reflection

May 30th: You’re invited to an
Enneagram + Centering Prayer Workshop

Join Leanne Schellenberg for a three-hour online workshop exploring the Enneagram as a companion tool to help us notice how our personality patterns can influence (and sometimes interfere with) our openness in prayer.

No preparation needed—only a willingness to notice, to be present, and to receive.

Together, we will explore a simple but meaningful question: What gets in the way of consenting to God’s presence and action—and what becomes possible when we gently soften to what arises as it is being released?

Learn more and register here

Our Mission

Prison Contemplative Fellowship/Praestolari builds contemplative community that transcends walls. Journeying together as people affected by incarceration, we share Centering Prayer meditation and foster connections to support healing and transformation, both personal and communal.

We support contemplative practice inside and beyond prison walls by:

Making Centering Prayer resources widely accessible
Strengthening communication and connection across the walls
Accompanying practitioners as they return home from incarceration
Co-sponsoring annual retreats with COPOST

Support our Mission

We place great value on all actions and intentions that align with our mission and help grow/support the community.

Those moved to help fund the work may donate here

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View past eBulletins here.

Resources & Materials

Our goal is to share contemplative resources as broadly as possible. We send a variety of materials inside locked facilities—responding to direct requests from incarcerated individuals, supporting volunteers and chaplains who accompany Centering Prayer groups, and sharing resources through our partnership with the Human Kindness Foundation. See some of our most requested materials below.

If you would like to receive books or DVDs, please contact us at hello@uspcf.org. Let us know if you are currently sharing Centering Prayer inside—or if you’re interested in learning how to get started.

Books

We offer free downloads of PCF books and provide books to volunteers and chaplains who support Centering Prayer groups inside facilities. Many titles are also available digitally through Edovo on facility-issued tablets nationwide.

See all books for download here

Centering Inside Newsletter

Centering Inside is our twice-yearly newsletter written for and sent directly to people living in locked facilities across the United States, offering reflections, teachings, and connection across the walls.

Read or download your copy here

Holding Still Documentary

Our 22-minute documentary, Holding Still, offers an intimate look at the practice of Centering Prayer among a group of men who are incarcerated at Folsom Prison. We provide DVDs of the film to volunteers and chaplains supporting Centering Prayer groups inside locked facilities.

Learn more and watch the film here

Locked Up and Free

Locked Up and Free is a pamphlet intended to be a hand of hope reaching out to those struggling under the weight of incarceration. It’s created by people who have “done time” themselves as well as by the friends and family of those incarcerated.

If you would like copies of Locked Up and Free to take inside one or more facilities, please fill out this form.

Read or download your copy here

Help us reach more people

Your participation helps this work travel farther and reach those who may need it. When something resonates, engaging—by liking, commenting, or sharing—is one of the most meaningful ways to support this work.