St. Thomas the Believer Project

Hello.  This email is from St. Thomas the Believer a communications project seeking to link those called to prison ministry around the world.  Please forward this to those in your conference/diocese who are interested in prison ministry.

For the most part prison ministry workers work in isolation from each other.  We here in northern Nevada do not know what folks are doing on The Yard in Boise, Idaho, nor in Birmingham, Alabama and Birmingham, England.  We cannot learn from what is being tried in Sydney nor in Stockholm. 

It is our hope that we can share this platform and share our experiences so that we can learn from each other, encourage each other, and be blessed by the connection with each other.

Whether it is in Chile or the United States, the Philippines or Canada, almost everywhere prisoners with a sexual offense are shunned by both society and by other prisoners. Most protective custody units inside the world’s prisons are heavily populated by sexual offenders.

This discrimination between “acceptable” crimes and “unacceptable” crimes, good sin and bad sin, is not only a reality in prison, but is also a reality after the person is released from prison.

In Nevada, the demographics are a bit surprising. Because of the long sentences given for sexual offenses, most released sexual offenders are more than 55 years old, more than 20 years removed from their crime, and were themselves victims of sexual assault in their childhood.

However, upon release, they are subjected to lifetime supervision by the parole department, and because of their specific crime, are discriminated against in housing, in employment, and even in attending church.

In the United States, at least the top 100 cities by population have 500, 1,000, and more residents who are ex-sexual offenders. These people are listed on the Sex Offender Registry within the state where they reside. The Sex Offender Registry is accessible to the public and a simple Google search exposes their record.

A delightful percentage of these ex-offenders have repented and were active in faith-based communities and programs during the days of their incarceration. For those who have led a repentant life during decades in prison, an additional burden is heaped on them. When they would celebrate the work of God bringing them from being someone who caused appalling damage to the freedom of being “gentle as doves,” the pressure of facing further public discrimination forces them to hide in silence rather than celebrate God’s deliverance.

No matter whether one thinks this is appropriate and/or necessary, there is general agreement that sexual offenders are of the lowest class of residents of almost every nation. They may well be the Least of These Our Brothers.

At the 2023 gathering of the California-Nevada Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, an emphasis in word and music declared “God Welcomes All.” However, the difficulty is who is included in “all.”

Yet, after an incident which forced this conference to confront the definition of “all,” I was asked to propose an assignment. Impulsively, and maybe a bit rashly, I suggested a ministry to the “shunned” of the Reno-Sparks area of Northern Nevada. I proposed tackling how to provide spiritual and pastoral ministry to ex-offenders, and especially ex-sexual offenders, while also being mindful of our duty as a church to provide Safe Gathering for the children and all the members of the church.

But rather than pushing this class of ex-felons away from the church, we discussed ways we could protect the members of the congregation while also extending the ministry of the church to these, among the least of our brothers.

A Local Pastor was licensed, and the work has begun. When Michael had open heart surgery, he was visited in the ICU until his eventual release from the hospital. When Ryan, now unable to walk, was due to be evicted from his residence, we organized a group to help find him another place to live. When Drew lost his job and ended up in the county homeless shelter, we rallied around, and he found a good job. When Bryant needed help to keep a roof over his head, we were there for him. We began to build community of the outcasts and friends to share in worship and in need.

David Nyberg
Licensed Local Pastor
St. Paul’s UMC, Reno