Prayer and Share

Trust, Empathy, Friendship.

In addition to the four-day retreat (Thursday afternoon through Sunday afternoon) in Torres*, the men in white** who attend the retreat are encouraged to participate in Prayer and Share, held weekly on a weekday evening from 6 to 8:30p.

Prayer and Share is led by men in white for men in white.  It is a great vehicle for incubating trust, empathy and friendship. 

Either an officer or volunteers must be present for the men in white to be permitted to meet.  I usually attended Prayer and Share at least once a month, not only because it facilitated the men getting together but because it enabled me to deepen the relationships I was establishing with some of the men in white.

Prayer and Share starts with group singing.  Then there is a time to express gratitude—“My daughter, whom I haven’t seen in fourteen years, is graduating from high school.  I’m so proud of her.  I’ll be a great father to her when I get out.”

“Today is my birthday.” “My dad’s recovering from his stroke.” “My sister’s having a baby.”

Next comes prayer requests.  It is hard to sit through this part of Prayer and Share without tears.

Then we break into groups of 8 or so, with a requirement that there be a volunteer in each group. A card listing suggested subjects, such as “when I felt closest to God this past week” was passed around. No man in white is required to share but most do. Volunteers listen, listen, love, love.

*I participated in a Christian retreat held in the Torres Unit, a Texas state prison near Hondo, Texas.

**In Texas prisons all inmates wear white.