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May 2019 Volume 20, Issue 3
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President's Message
| Andrew Kissell
Chicken Friday on the Inside | Love Shall Overcome
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Good Morning,
Every inmate or resident, as they prefer to be called, has a story -- why they're in, how bad it is inside, that kind of story. As Kairos volunteers, we are not supposed to ask, but residents often need to share. Kee told me his story on Chicken Friday.
There a
re a lot of bad things inside, and the food is one of the worst. But once or twice a month on a Friday at lunch, the lightly breaded chicken sandwich is the best menu item bar none. When lunch finally arrived at nearly 1pm, the anticipation was
palpable. Kee and everyone else inside loved this chicken. You could see it in their eyes. This was worth the wait. And waiting is the thing you do the most in prison.
The chicken s
andwich was better than anything else we
were given to eat for lunch inside on this four-day weekend: soupy and lumpy mashed potatoes; broccoli stems without flor
ets; mystery meat in macaroni. By comparison, this was cuisine. One resident tol
d me he respected me because I ate the food. We all understood why residents s
ign up for Kairos: unlimited homemade cookies. The cookies may well have been gold, but this chicken was
heavenly by prison standards.
Even tho
ugh c
ookies may be a metaphor for Kairos, most residents figure out that "it ain't
about the cookies." Kairos is about love and friendship; forgiveness and 1choices; grace and sacrifice. The residents learn why we're there as volunteers, recognize our willingness to accept them as they are, and begin to trust us -- both that we are not scammers and this Jesus stuff is not a scam. He's in our hearts. Our goal is to start prayer and share groups in the prison p
ods. They all may have been duds, throwaways, and n
othing to everyone else, but not to us. They are our brothers. God loves them.
Each morning we ate breakfast at our motel, lunch in the prison, then dinner at a sponsoring church. That Friday we ate eggs and sausage for breakfast; heavenly chicken sandwiches at lunch; and fried chicken, green beans and deviled eggs for dinner. It was, after all, Chicken Friday.
Oh, I almost forgot. According to Kee, he acted in self-defense.
Andrew
Andrew Kissell, President
757-839-0790
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2019 UMM Annual Conference Breakfast | June 21 at 7am
You are Invited | Join VA UMMen at the Roanoker Restaurant
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You are
invited
to the 2019 VA UMMen Annual Conference Breakfast on Friday, June
21, 7am, a
t the Roanoker Restaurant
, 2522 Colonial Avenue in Roanoke. Me
n, spouses, and gue
sts will gather at 7:00 a.m. to enjoy a hearty breakfast, welcome the Scouts and Heart Havens, and conduct the annual business of the Virginia Conference United Methodist Men. The cost of breakfast is $10.
Please join us for prayer, devotion, and fellowship.
Note: The Roanoker Restaurant opens at 7am and is a 10-15 minute drive from the Burgland Center, site of the 2019 Annual Conference.
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2019 Spiritual Advance | September 27-28 in Virginia Beach
Speakers | Hotels | Golf Tournament
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Transforming Grace
2019 Spiritual Advance
September 27-28, 2019
Baylake UMC, Virginia Beach
Please join with UMMen of the Virginia Conference on September 27-28 for the 2019 Spiritual Advance at Baylake UMC in Virginia Beach. Speakers and workshop leaders will include:
The R
ev. Dr. Kevin Watson, Assistant Professor of Wesleyan and Methodist Studies at Candler School of Theology at Emory University. He is author of The Class Meeting: Reclaiming a Forgotten (and Essential) Small Group Experience, a best-selling book about Wesleyan transformational small groups, and Pursuing Social Holiness: The Band Meeting in Wesley's Thought and Popular Methodist Practice. An ordained elder in the Oklahoma Conference, Dr. Watson is the Bible Study leader at the 2019 Annual Conference.
Odell Horne
is the
YoungER Men's Ministry
Representative for the North Georgia Conference to the Southeast Jurisdiction's team that is working to develop best practices in reaching younger men for Jesus Christ. He is also a Lay Servant at Impact Church (East Point, GA), a Men's Ministry Specialist, and a member of the Society of Biblical Literature. He is a graduate of Texas College, Clark Atlanta University, and Bethel Theological Seminary. He works for the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System.
Greg Arnold
is deployed staff at the General Commission on United Methodist Men (GCUMM) and an advocate for Men's Ministry. The mission of the GCUMM is to help men grow in Christ so that others may know Christ.
Registration details and information about church sponsorships for the 2019 Spiritual Advance will be announced in June before Annual Conference. Discounts for pastors, spouses, early-bird and Buy One Get One (for first timers) will be available.
Please reserve your hotel rooms now at the special Spiritual Advance rate of $109/night. Registration deadline is August 28, 2019.
1570 North M
ilitary Highway
Norfolk, Virginia 23502
Phone: 757-213-2231
Note
: Select the dates 09/27/2019 - 09/29/2019 to book the special rate.
1500 North Military Highway
Norfolk, VA 23502
Phone: 757-466-8000
Register for the 2nd Annual VA UMM/Heart Havens Golf Tournament
or contact Steve Shaefer at 757-285-8047.
Please download the printable flyer for more detailed information about the golf tournament.
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June is Men's Health Month
Resources for Men and Health
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Why do women tend to live longer than men? Why are men reluctant to go to the doctor? Why do men hesitate to talk to each other about health?
During Men's National Health Month in June, men and boys are encouraged to seek medical advice and early treatment for disease and injury. June 10-16, the week ending on Father's Day, is Men's National Health Week. President Clinton signed the bill that Senator Bob Dole sponsored into law establishing National Men's Health Week on May 31, 1994.
Men's Health Network is a national non-profit organization whose mission is to reach men, boys, and their families where they live, work, play, and pray with health awareness and disease prevention resources and tools.
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Growing in Christian Fellowship...
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Many now happily experience that Christian fellowship of which they had not so much as an idea before. They began to 'bear one another's burdens,' and 'naturally' to 'care for each other.' As they had daily a more intimate acquaintance with, so they had a more endeared affection for each other."
- John Wesley
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