what we do

Prison Contemplative Fellowship is rooted in mutuality. We aim to foster life-giving, wall-transcending contemplative community for growth in freedom.

The Prison Outreach National Database (POND)

  • using technology to overcome isolation

    we're developing a cloud-based application/database to facilitate communication with those currently experiencing incarceration

  • data storage

    POND tracks locked facilities (multiple mailing and unit/location addresses, specific mailing protocols and restrictions, etc.) and associated individuals (those housed in the facilities, as well as staff and volunteers); it can also hold post-release addresses, facilitating connection through this often-challenging time of transition and reintegration

  • concentrate on content

    avoid the “dead letter bin” and the expense of sending mail that isn’t received; let our software and data analysts stay on top of the many and changing rules, freeing your organizational resources for writing the correspondence — if there’s a way to get your message to the intended recipients, we’ll find it!

  • organizations maintain their own mailing lists

    by sharing a single facility table, POND allows like-minded organizations to benefit from each others’ efforts to keep abreast of changing regulations for facility mail processing; lists of individuals housed in the facilities who have asked for an organization’s material remain the property of each subscriber

  • enhanced user-interface

    fully customizable to suit a given organization’s needs: user access levels operate on a “need-to-know” basis, making it possible for volunteers to participate in corresponding across the walls without compromising important boundaries (e.g. restrict access to those incarcerated in the region where someone lives, or allow them to see only first names of incarcerated individuals)

  • value added services

    Praestolari is already providing training and gainful employment to a handful of returning citizens with the interest and capacity for serving as data analysts; they can help maintain subscriber data (e.g. catching when an individual has changed facilities)

Our concern for the challenges of adapting a contemplative practice learned during incarceration to life outside the walls requires particular attentiveness to individual circumstances.

We value the diverse gifts that each person contributes — and how those gifts change over time. Since each person’s journey is unique, our mission of formation, accompaniment and provision manifests differently and isn’t easily characterized.

Our approach is not “one size fits all” but emerges through mutually identified strengths and needs on a case-by-case basis.

A few recent examples:

  • by providing a tablet to a young friend who's had a challenging transition, we've given him the ability to participate via Zoom not only in Centering Prayer but also in a reading group and other activities that help him pursue the goal of getting his GED

  • by providing a laptop, we've made it possible for a friend who spent over three decades inside to earn supplemental income as a data analyst; his personal experience in the system gives him insight into the project, while the training and experience improve his comfort level with the technology he's catching up on learning

  • by providing funds for first month's rent, we helped a friend who had relapsed during transition-related challenges move from a shelter into a shared living situation for a fresh start

  • by providing a listening ear and encouraging words, we journey alongside various friends at different points in the process of adjusting to post-incarceration life; each story is different, but all without exception have healing to do after spending time inside the walls

We’d love for you to join our growing community:

Transcendentally: first and foremost, by consenting to God’s presence and action through Centering Prayer and/or other contemplative practices

Temporally: let us know how to stay in touch; we’d also love to have you share your feedback, desires, and experiences

Materially: time, talent or treasure… 100% of what you give goes directly to supporting our mission