"Make a friend, Be a friend, Bring that friend to Christ"

Chayah Incarcerated Youth Prison Ministry

What is Chayah?
Chayah is an ecumenical ministry for incarcerated youth at the Adobe Mountain and Black Canyon Schools. It provides 3-day, volunteer run retreats at the schools once in the Fall and once in the Spring.  There are Group Reunions on Saturday mornings for the girls and Saturday afternoons for the boys twice a month. Chayah also has mentors for youth upon their release from these facilities.

Click here to read Chayah #47 Music Director's experience

 As always, if you have any suggestions for the Chayah page, please contact me at webmaster@lutherancursillo.org

Contacts:
If you would like to help out or have any questions please contact 

Karen LoPinto
623-931-7028
coyotekl@cox.net

Weekends:

Boy’s #49, October 8-10, 2009; Lay Director – Jean-Yves Chevallier

Girl’s #50, October 15-17, 2009; Lay Director – Jo Jaffe

Boys #49	Girls #50
Lay Director – Jean-Yves Chevallier	Lay Director – Jo Jaffe

Candlelight-Boy's (Adobe Mountain): Friday, October 9  – be at the gate no later than 6:30 pm

Clausura-Boy's (Adobe Mountain): Saturday, October 10  – be at the gate no later than 5:00 pm

Candlelight-Girl's (Black Canyon School): Friday, October 16  – be at the gate no later than 6:30 pm

Clausura-Girl's (Black Canyon School): Saturday, October 17 – be at the gate no later than 5:00 pm

Call Karen LoPinto at 623-979-7039 and give your Full Name, SSN and Date of Birth.  We MUST have your information by this Sunday, 9/20 in order to submit the list by Monday 9/21.  Thanks

Participants:

The names of the participants are unknown until they arrive for the 3-day retreat.  Just know that each young woman and young man is picked by God to attend.

Inside Youth Team: 

We have several youth on the inside who participate on team.  Some are cooks, some are table leaders.  Some of the table leaders also give a talk, either by themselves or with an adult.  It’s inspiring to see these youth grow as they experience the role of servant.  It’s not possible to publish their names so we just ask for your prayers for this very special group of young people.

 

How You Can Help:

Please prayerfully consider supporting the upcoming Girl’s and Boy’s Chayah
weekends.  How can you do that?

1. Monetary donations.  It costs about $40 per youth for the weekend.  These youth don’t have sponsors or other family members who have been through a 3-day retreat.  We rely solely on donations to provide the means for these youth to experience God’s love. Please send donations to: Martin Twitchell 15002 N 35th Dr. Phoenix, Arizona 85053

2. Agape  (Palanca).  The Agape (Palanca) that these youth receive is typically a fraction of what a youth might receive on a Tirosh weekend.  As you know, the best form of Agape is personal letters/notes, and Agape from Tirosh youth would be especially meaningful to these incarcerated youth.  If you want to send some Agape, please see the guidelines below.

3. Food Agape.  Teenagers love to eat and these kids are no exception.  Suggestions:  individual bags of Chex Mix or other types of chips/pretzels, trail mix, cookies, brownies (nothing can be foil wrapped). 

4.      Agape Feast and/or Candlelight.  After the Agape Feast, Candlelight is probably the next most touching parts of the weekend for these youth.  Again, the attendance at these services is often quite low.  All it takes to get into the prison is to email (Isaiah6-8@cox.net) or phone in (623-544-9146) your name as it appears on your driver’s license, Social Security Number and your date of birth.  Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections requires all of this information.  We need this information no later then October 1st. 

5.      Clausura.  Clausura is the least attended of all “public” services.  It is also the most powerful for those who live outside the fence.  This is where the youth have an opportunity to share how Jesus touched them on the Weekend.  The same rules for attendance, as listed above, apply.

GUIDELINES FOR AGAPE

YOUTH OF BLACK CANYON/ADOBE MOUNTAIN

1. Use paper or cardstock.

2. Greeting—Dear Sister or Brother in Christ. Salutation—Your Sister or Brother in Christ and your first name.

3. Please be sure to print - many can’t read cursive.

4. Copied materials are fine, but it’s better to print a short message and sign your name

5. Children’s Sunday School paper creations are welcome and greatly appreciated, especially by the girls.

6. We need some generic Spanish pieces to copy.

7. Candy is fine, but nothing wrapped in foil.

8. No gum, nuts in the shell, magnets, lapel pins, staples or paperclips – use Scotch tape.

Please provide 35 pieces for girls and 50 for boys. The adult team does not expect nor do they want to receive agape—the focus is sharing God’s love with the youth.