A group of parishioners from a Lake Forest church uses the art of letter writing in prison pen pal ministry

Chicago Tribune

2 days ago

At the Church of the Holy Spirit in Lake Forest, a prison pen pal ministry, comprised of a group of about 40 parishioners, corresponds with men and women incarcerated in Illinois prisons.
Jill Soderberg has led the group since 2018, and says while all that's required of ministry participants is an interest in pursuing correspondence and perhaps a knack for the art of letter writing, what begins as a simple letter may help those incarcerated survive the present, and inadvertently increase their opportunities for the future.
With a 10-plus-year history at the church, ministry members have written to over 100 prison pen pals in prisons like Dixon, Pinckneyville, Danville, Western Illinois in Mt. Sterling, Illinois River in Canton, Stateville, and others.
'The rewards of involvement have been abundant on both sides, and for some inmates, their pen pal is their only contact with the outside world,' Soderberg said.
While not an advocacy group, according to Soderberg, their mission is simply to provide Christian friendship through writing letters.
'It's difficult to participate in the prison pen pal ministry and not develop an interest in our criminal justice system – so we do address criminal justice issues during our quarterly meetings,' Soderberg said.
For security purposes, ministry members use pseudonyms, usually their first name and a fictitious last name, and all mail comes to the church address at 400 East Westminster in Lake Forest.
According to Soderberg, it is not unusual for the correspondence to continue even after a pen pal has been released from prison.
As exemplified in the experience of ministry member Lynne Atherton of Waukegan, who wrote a letter of advocacy in support of her multi-year pen pal, Russell Mims, when he was being considered for early parole in 2017.
'On the day of his release from Stateville Correctional Center, I was accompanied by two other ministry members, and we went to pick him up, we were the ones to greet him,' Atherton said.
'Often, what starts as a correspondence can lead to long-term friendship and assistance with reentry into civilian life with support from organizations like the Chicago-based St. Leonard's House of St. Leonard's Ministries, and others, that provide interim housing and support for the formerly incarcerated,' Atherton added.
Another long-time pen pal ministry member, David Waud of Lake Forest, found the inspiration to underwrite Ragdale fellowships for formerly incarcerated artists, an annual fellowship which began in 2022.
Ragdale is an artist residency program also located in Lake Forest, which provides time and space for artists to develop new works. Ragdale is one of the largest residency programs in the United States, awarding over 150 residencies annually. Situated on the grounds of the former summer home of noted Chicago architect Howard Van Doren Shaw, with access to 50 acres of protected prairie land, artists share this environment while exploring their artistic work.
'The Waud Fellowship for formerly incarcerated artists has been incredibly meaningful to Ragdale, and knowing the impact it has on artists who are selected is incredibly powerful,' Ragdale executive director Paul Sacaridiz said.
Recent Waud fellowship recipient Joe Earvin Martinez is an interdisciplinary performance artist who said he was in and out of jail and rehab in Los Angeles from 2019 to 2021.
Martinez describes his art practice as focused on the experiences of queer and trans artists of color who have been incarcerated and survived mental illness and addiction.
'While at Ragdale, I am creating a performance piece that tells a story of incarceration, addiction, and recovery, one that explores ethnographic ideas about how we often perform the culture we are living in,' Martinez said.
Martinez says creativity can be a life source, and his work is a celebration of how creativity lives in a variety of places.
'It's so encouraging to have someone take stock in your work, to be given respect and acceptance and time away in this beautiful place — when part of what you are creating is who you want to be in this world,' Martinez said.