Justice Sunday
Justice Sunday National Continuum Briefing Points
Objective
Beginning 2011 and beyond, the National Alliance of Faith and Justice will encourage its affiliates and invite local, national, faith, service organizations, and criminal justice agencies to expand traditional commemorative programming by promoting and observing the third week of January each year as a period to recruit and recognize mentors and volunteers who serve current and previously incarcerated men and women, court-involved youth, and children of incarcerated parents through prison and outreach ministries, and through other direct service programs.
The Justice Sunday(tm) National Recruitment and Recognition Initiative(tm) will occur in January, National Mentoring Month, and the week-long extension coincides with the 25th anniversary of the observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday (January 20, 1986). As such, the week of recruitment and recognition will incorporate the Sunday prior to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service. In 2011, the week will begin with the birthdate of Dr. King which will occur on Saturday, January 15, and will continue through Friday, January 20.
Both the term "justice" and "Sunday" have been used to represent faith, unity, the need for equality, to symbolize human and civil rights, and to address serious societal issues. Justice Sunday™ has been observed by thousands of churches since 2000 and was trademarked for purposes herein described by the National Alliance of Faith and Justice in 2005. It is so entitled to acknowledge a day within the MLK federal holiday weekend to honor the vocation of Dr. King and the critical role of volunteers of faith during the historic civil rights movement. It also recognizes mentoring as a valued service to improve the lives of youth and adults in academic performance, transitional preparation, and many other life connections.
The issues for which Dr. King gave his life have improved but continue to require the courage, persistence, innovation, and acknowledgment of volunteers to address unmet needs particularly in the areas of education and criminal justice.
^ Return to TopBackground Statement
It is impossible to serve these overwhelming needs of youth and adults whose lives are at serious risk due to crime without acknowledging the volume and efforts of service performed by mentors and volunteers.
In 1895, Warden J.W. French, the first Warden at the United States Penitentiary at Leavenworth, realized that federal prisoners needed an incentive to foster positive behavior. He and Chaplain F.J. Leavitt pioneered the idea of inviting people from the community to assist their institution, especially in providing literacy courses and religious services. While much of society turns its back on convicted offenders, volunteering in prisons has always been a calling for others, both in the US and elsewhere. People from all walks of life serve as volunteers in correctional settings and serve the needs of offender family members in a variety of helpful ways.
While not exhaustive, the following facts are prudent in analyzing the value of volunteers who help fulfill the needs of special-needs populations.
- Volunteers who serve the incarcerated or assist those returning and who mentor the children of the incarcerated are among those who display a sense of compassion which looks beyond the errors of human failure to see and offset the complex variables by giving of themselves.
- Persons who enter prisons as volunteers or to serve as a mentor subject the private aspects of their lives to public inspection and scrutiny, at risk of rejection, to determine their fitness and gain approval to serve.
- Many volunteers travel great distances to extremely remote locations, sometimes to multiple states and sites not served by the convenience of public transportation to offer their time.
- In millions of churches across the country, the ministries which visit adults and juveniles inprisons and jails are least recognized, do not attract participants in large numbers, but they remain in place.
- It is estimated that over two million children have one or both parents in prison.
- It is not uncommon for persons to serve 30 or more years as a citizen volunteer in a prison without missing a week of service, despite harsh weather conditions, long waits at entry points, and without fear despite the level of security at any particular facility.
- These volunteers work without benefit of fanfare and media attention, are committed beyond a one day event, and recognize that their contributions make the difference between successful reentry and recidivism, academic enhancement, dropping-out or graduation, incarceration, freedom, or limited employment or life opportunities.
- The reference "school to prison pipeline" generates a continuum of need served by committed volunteers and mentors who recognize the need for abolitionists and conductors to form a national network of care and services in hopes of helping youth to navigate and escape the crisis of low-performing lives and schools, family and neighborhood contributing factors, and the myriad of issues they face on a daily basis.
Variables Which Support the Specified Week
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. devoted his life to advancing equality, social justice, and opportunity for all. He challenged us to build a more perfect union and taught us that everyone has a role to play in making America what it ought to be.
- Since 2000, NAFJ has designated and encouraged the observance of Justice Sunday(tm) as a national movement for change through sustained service to honor the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the significance of his service as a clergy along with thousands whose actions during the civil rights movement have translated into a measurable difference in many ways.
- Volunteers help to preserve public safety, fill critical gaps where federal, state, and local resources are not available, and work to engage the rich diversity of American religious communities in partnerships to strengthen the common good in America.
- When religiously affiliated persons, communities, their specialized agencies, and multi-religious organizations work together in multi-stakeholder partnerships, as they often do and did during the civil rights movement of the 50s and 60s, they understand themselves as engaging in "interfaith service," working for the common good, even while maintaining the unique religious identity of each participating partner.
- The commemoration serves as a campaign to mobilize meaningful volunteer acts throughout the nation, heavily but not exclusively targeting local and national institutions and persons of all faiths.
How Can You Join In This Initiative?
- Visit our website ( www.nafj.org ) and SIGN ON. Let us know that you will join us at some point during this week with your related local recruitment and recognition focus;
- Recognition
- Incarcerated parents, caregivers, and direct services organizations, take a moment to let us know how your child(ren) have or continue to benefit from having a mentor during parental incarceration;
- Recognize volunteers who serve in prison ministry, restorative justice, reentry, or extensions of mentoring which serve youth or adults impacted by crime and incarceration;
- Mentors:
- Partner with the school or independently work with students enrolled in one or more low performing schools through structured mentoring and tutorial programs to help them improve their reading or other academic areas.
- Recognize mentors who have served in this capacity
- Connect Service With A Service:
- Whether on Justice Sunday(tm), your day of worship, or in conjunction with your commemorative event, host a mentor recruitment as attendees exit for youth who have an incarcerated parent or to assist a parent in preparing to return to their family after incarceration;
- Ask people to donate seeds, plants, purchase and donate a book or bring school supplies as entry or an extension of a commemorative concert, meal, or other event honoring Dr. King.