News
Restoring Hope through Welcome: Nebraska Synod Prison Ministries
March 21, 2022
“But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.”
In Jesus’ well-known parable, the Prodigal Son pursues an ill-advised course through life, eventually ending up penniless, living with pigs and wondering about the dead end his life has come to. In a moment of insight, he recognizes that there may still be a place in his father’s household for him, even if only as a servant. He soon learns that the father has far different, more gracious ideas about his son and his son’s place in the household.
The son’s story is one that has a thousand variations among those who find themselves incarcerated in one of Nebraska’s prison facilities. Many of those who are there recognize that they’ve come to a dead end and wonder if there is any place for them back in society as a whole, let alone within their own families and communities. Even for the sincerest among them, hope itself may seem like too much to hope for.
Fortunately, many of them find their way to the worship services, Bible studies and pastoral relationship of the Nebraska Synod’s Prison Ministries. There they hear the Good News of the gospel, of a God who will always welcome them back. Through their participation in the life of Prison Ministries, and through its affiliated ministries for those who are released, many of them find not only hope but a concrete means of transitioning out of their time behind bars back into their families and communities. Through this ministry that you make possible, the story of the Prodigal Son comes to life again and again, to the joy of many.
Nebraska Synod Prison Ministries is one of the many ministries of the Nebraska Synod bringing the Word to life in service. Thank you to you and your congregation for your support!
Throughout the season of Lent, the Nebraska Synod will be lifting up various Nebraska Synod ministries and serving arms that have a connection to the upcoming Sunday text. The text referenced here is from Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32, the Gospel reading for Sunday, March 27 – The Fourth Sunday in Lent.