10月5日, 2018, Grammy award nominee Lauren Daigle visited Stateville Correctional Center to perform both for and alongside the men who are incarcerated. A well-loved contemporary Christian artist, Daigle has recently broken into new career territory with her album 抬头看孩子 debuting at number 3 on the Billboard 200 chart. 访问ing Stateville, however, was a groundbreaking event all its own. A maximum security state prison, Stateville has strict rules regarding visitors and gatherings.
薇姬·雷迪，执行制片人 司法会议, was able to organize the event with the assistance of Stateville’s chaplains. Reddy is the first free student to be enrolled in the 基督教牧师文学硕士—a degree program offered to the men at Stateville through North Park Theological 神学院’s School of Restorative Arts.
The hurdles to such an event taking place at Stateville are part of what made the concert significant to the men. “They are used to the worst being expected of them,米歇尔·克利夫顿-索德斯特罗姆说, director of the School of Restorative Arts. “For imprisoned and free individuals to be able to come together in worship—it was humanizing for all of us.”
Reddy, Clifton-Soderstrom, and two alumni of the School of Restorative Arts were able to attend the concert which included Daigle performing with her band as well as a joint performance with the Stateville Gospel Choir.
Performing alongside Daigle was especially meaningful to inmate Ryan Miller. 当她到达时, Miller shared that a couple of years prior he had experienced a vision in which he was singing with Lauren Daigle. In his vision, this was the beginning of a revival.
Daigle closed the concert with the Gaither hymn, 美丽的东西, a song which speaks of brokenness transformed into hope and healing.
After the performance, Daigle was given a tour of the facility, including the panopticon. 通常被称为圆屋, the building is a cylinder consisting of 4 floors of cells facing inward to a central tower. This design allowed a minimal number of guards to observe prisoners on every side. Despite concerns regarding inhumane conditions, the panopticon at Stateville remained in use until 2016; it was the last of its kind in operation since the 1990s.
The opportunity for Daigle to meet the men, 见证他们周围的环境, and worship with them fits directly within the larger vision of the School of Restorative Arts, which aims to not only provide education and hope to the students inside the prison but also to provide a connection to those outside, 让双方都能看到对方, 建立理解和社区.
Both the restorative arts program and Lauren Daigle’s visit have been received warmly by Stateville’s administration, and all involved in organizing the event hope to continue these opportunities for community building.
“North Park being here with us is the most important thing happening at Stateville.” says Assistant Warden of Operations Nicholas Lamb. “它给了很多人希望. People who aren’t in the program yet are going to want to be after this event.”
Senior Chaplain George Adamson summed up what the day meant to him. 我还能说什么呢?愿耶和华赐福给你们. To see the men worship has always been my dream. The power of the Holy Spirit was evident on the stage . . . it was so worth it to see the men who basically have nothing and little hope become energized and let go for a brief moment . . . Please thank Lauren for me and on behalf of the men. This will be talked about for a very long time.”
More 新闻 about the School of Restorative Arts
所有摄影:Karl Soderstrom