Ex-offender says thanks for grant to Exodus House
Earlier this year, I received a wonderful letter from Meagan Gaddis, a 27-year-old woman from Oklahoma City. She was writing to thank the General Board of Church & Society for the Peace with Justice grant supporting Exodus House, part of Criminal Justice and Mercy Ministries (CJAMM) of the Oklahoma Conference.
Exodus House is a temporary residential project for people newly released from prison.
Through the financial and emotional stability offered by Exodus House, Meagan is planning on "moving out on my own two feet." She works part-time and is a full-time student at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond.
Peace includes offering a place of hospitality, of forgiveness and reconciliation in the community. Welcoming Meagan and her family into a new way of being out of incarceration is one critical way that we are building peace in this world.
As Meagan wrote, "My life is just beginning to grow, and I know that it was the Exodus House that provided such a fertile foundation to nurture that growth."
Peace with Justice Sunday will be observed May 22 in The United Methodist Church.
Annual conferences keep half of that Special Sunday offering to fund local peace with justice programs. The other half comes to GBCS to help fund U.S. and global work in social action, public-policy education, and advocacy.
(Rev. Dr. Henry-Crowe is chief executive of the General Board of Church & Society, based in Washington, D.C.)