In the Fall 2020 issue of the Worthy Now newsletter, we asked for responses on a simple question: How does the CLF feed your spirit?

We’re so grateful for all of your beautiful responses — hearing from you truly feeds our spirits! Here are excerpts from just  a few of the responses we received.  

GARY

CLF member, incarcerated in NC

Growing up as a Christian in the  South meant church on Sunday,  fried chicken for lunch, and  youth group that night. We never questioned the “rightness” of it  all or ventured to think there just  may be another road available.  Doctrine, ritual, dogma rules our  lives, often crushing the very  spirit it was meant to uplift.

Enter CLF. Coming to prison has  strangely been a liberating experience. Formerly having to live a  life in secret, being gay, and worries about a reputation and name, prison opened doors for my spirit.  CLF-UU has given my spirit the  wings to see that church does not have to be a stodgy, dry experience. It can be uplifting!

As my poem [on the next page]  says, stripped of my armor, incarceration has laid me bare, and  removed the trappings I once hid behind. Replacing beliefs no longer my own, CLF-UU has provided the spiritual communion every  person seeks, whether openly or without even realizing it, as we  all ponder the mysterious and  wonderful thing called life.

AUGUST

CLF member, incarcerated in WI

Focus is often directed toward growing physically and mentally. The  problem is a person can be physically  and mentally to their capacity and  still experience a sense of emptiness.  This begins to point to bread alone not being what sustains life. CLF has helped me reframe my mindset so growth is viewed in a more holistic way. No longer do I confine growth to  the physical and mental domain. The spiritual growth CLF has produced  within me not only allowed me to  recognize my worth and dignity, but  more importantly the worth and  dignity of every person. CLF so far  has highlighted the importance of  feeding the spirit. This has forced me  to wrestle with how something so  valuable (i.e. feeding the spirit) can  ever be considered invaluable.

SCOTT

CLF member, incarcerated in CA

The CLF is one of the few windows I  have into the uplifting and inspiring  parts of the world. When surrounded  by bleakness, it is easy to forget that there is plenty of good happening all over the world. In the Worthy  Now newsletter, I am reminded that  there are strangers who care about me even if they can not comfort me  on my darkest days. Reading the Quest Monthly enlightens me with  viewpoints I wouldn’t have encountered otherwise. The free books and courses are essential tools I use in my own rehabilitation. I share them with those who attend self-help groups with me, and I even introduce some of the materials in workshops I design.

There are plenty of mainstream Christians around who simply want to save my soul. Yet, the CLF is helping save me from the hell that is life  in prison. Thank you for empowering me and being a welcoming community. Your compassion feeds my spirit in ways that help me stay resilient in the face of daily hardship.