Article April 16, 2012 Issue

Powerful, innocent, and free

Tom McElroy

As I sat in the seven-story concrete parking lot at Los Angeles County’s large central jail, I looked out from my car and wondered, “Why in the world would a group of inmates want to listen to a skinny kid like me, from the other side of town, talk about spirituality?”

I was recently out of college, working in finance, and had never been in a jail before. Just minutes away from going in with a Christian Science chaplain to help give a church service and conduct one-on-one interviews, I felt totally unprepared. On the heels of that disparaging thought, however, came a sense of strength and peace. I realized that the attentiveness and respect that I would receive would be totally based on the power of God in this activity, not on my personal qualifications, or lack thereof.

My experience that day, and in the years following, proved this encouraging idea to be true, as I consistently encountered a deep respect from inmates for the purpose and efficacy of our work sharing Truth and Love (names synonymous for God).