March 2021 Newsletter

Mar 1

PSF Patrons and Friends,

As we near the end of the first quarter of the year, we see signs things are beginning to open up in many areas of our country and we are glad. Here in Texas, it has been very difficult for many. From February 15-17, we had the worst ice and snow storm that the area has experienced in over thirty years and in the midst of it with NO ELECTRICITY AND WATER. The unusual times we faced in 2020 have thus continued into the first quarter of 2021.

Many are asking, “What is the status of the annual PSF Conference?” Our third annual PSF Conference was slated to be on the campus of Calvin University in Grand Rapids in May 2020, but because of Covid-19, it was rescheduled to June 2-4, 2021, at the same venue. After much discussion with Commissioner Cain, the PSF Team, and along with the staff at Calvin, we have made the decision to hold off on our conference at Calvin University and have reset for a future date of June 1-3, 2022; HOWEVER, the good news is the PSF Team believes strongly in the need to have our third annual conference this year. We also deem it necessary to moving to a more open state for the program. THEREFORE, the Prison Seminaries Foundation is pleased to announce the THIRD ANNUAL CONFERENCE will be OCTOBER 6-8, 2021, on the campus of SOUTHWESTERN BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, The Riley Center, Fort Worth, Texas. Early registration is now open!

The Riley Center at SWBTS has 55 hotel rooms; seven of which have already been reserved so please begin the registration process to secure on-site accommodations. This year’s conference, we will be discussing the many changes and transformations that are taking place across the country in prison reform. More research is now available on the effectiveness of “peer to peer” Field Ministers. We will be posting our full schedule of events for the conference soon! Please contact Michele Hurst for additional information.

Now for a quick update on PSF activities: Our team continues to move forward with renewing interest in states for which we have had an ongoing dialogue since the pandemic:

Commissioner Cain has seen significant changes already taking place in the Mississippi men’s program with the addition of four Angola graduates as the Chaplains at Parchman. Last fall, the Mississippi Women’s program got off to a great start with the hiring of Dr. Beth Masters from New Orleans Baptist Seminary. In January 2021, the first Women’s cohort is under way. 28 women are presently enrolled in the group. Thank you, Burl Cain!
Judge Tom Kohl continues to sustain the Men’s Program of Oregon through Paid in Full and Corban University. A Virtual Fund-Raising Rally is scheduled for March 11, 2021. Thank you, Judge Kohl!
Dr. Vance Drum has been involved in chaplaincy training for many years and it has developed into a virtual reality because of Covid. He just completed a joint Chaplaincy Training for students at B.H. Carroll Theological Institute and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Thank you, Vance Drum!
Rev. Tim Whipple has done a phenomenal job in bridging the gap as the Men’s Program in Florida transitions from NOBTS to the Baptist College of Florida. BCF is also in the process of opening a Women’s Program inside the Florida DOC in August 2021. It will be housed at the Lowell Correctional Facility near Ocala in the center of the state. Tim has been instrumental in securing a grant from a Florida foundation that will aid and ensure both programs to prosper and flourish. Thank you, Tim Whipple!
Finally, we must give a big “Shout Out” to Dr. Jimmy Dukes, who was the Founding Dean of Extension Education for all the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary Prison programs (LA, MS, GA, FL). Over the past 25 years, his wisdom, tenacity, and statesmanship has made many of the prison programs we see flourishing a reality. Thank you, Jim Dukes! We appreciate you!

We could also remind you that Colorado is slated to begin their Men’s Program in June with a grant secured from a Texas Foundation, or that Oklahoma has a full forty (40) man cohort that is finally under way as of February 2021, or that we will resume our discussions with New Jersey DOC and Pillar College as of April 7, 2021, but you do not have enough time!

Thanks for taking the time to read, to pray, to think about and to give to the vital work of Prison Seminaries Foundation. We have a PayPal account in which you can give online as God prompts your heart. Please join us in the Kingdom work of “Moral Rehabilitation” – One Inmate, One Prison, and One State at a Time.

Until He comes,

Burl Cain with Denny Autrey

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