How Members Of A Small Citizens Group Have Impacted Our Local Criminal Justice System

(update) VJC has an open meeting on the first Monday noon
of each month, and a working group meeting on the third Monday noon.

Most of the following developments are the result of collaboration among many people and organizations, but the changes below are among those either initiated by and/or substantially supported by members of Valley Justice Coalition, a group of concerned citizens that has been meeting regularly since 2014:

1. Tireless (and successful) efforts to promote alternatives to building a new jail.

2. The long inactive Community Criminal Justice Board becoming a group that meets quarterly, and is now open to public input.

3. The CCJB appointing an Alternatives Committee which included members of the VJC and chaired by Judge John Paul, which has made significant proposals for reform.

4. Initiating ongoing conversation about need for better mental health services in the jail, and eventually resulting in having the Community Services Board provide funding for a half-time, then a full-time, counselor.

5. Drug Court, which according to the DNR, began as “several community leaders raised concerns about the growing inmate population…” (DNR, 12/10/18)

6. A Day Reporting program at Gemeinschaft Home.

7. Increased citizen involvement in the Reentry Council and its Action Committee and subcommittees.

8. A survey done of over 80 members of inmate families to learn more about their concerns about jail policies.

9. 'WITH' hospitality center at RISE church for visiting family members and loved ones waiting to see inmates at jail.

10. Having significant influence both in the formation of Faith in Action and in its choice of criminal justice reform as its 2018 focus. 
11. Significant collaboration with FIA in the wording and implementation of specific objectives in their campaign.

12. Sheriff becoming more aware of, and sensitive to, community concerns about jail policies, resulting in his taking initiative in improving those policies, including the remarkable step of providing educational tablets for inmates.

13. A October 15 community forum led by Board of Supervisor William Kyger and attended by some 300 people, on the issue of considering hiring a community justice planner. This meeting would not have happened without the influence of VJC and FIA.

14. Numerous op ed pieces and letters to the editor by members of VJC on local criminal justice reforms.

15. Having criminal justice reform advocate Nancy Insco and Probation and Parole head Joshua Lutz of the Reentry Council added to the membership of the CCJB.

16. Advocating for accessibility and submitting data requests for incorporation in the new data system being acquired through a cooperative effort by Harrisonburg, Rockingham County and James Madison University. 

17. Commonwealth's Attorney Marsha Garst stating she wants to change “the warehouse mentality to a greenhouse mentality.” (in the the minutes of the meeting of the State Drug Treatment Court Advisory Committee.)
18. With James Madison University's Mahatma Gandhi Center, initiating and planning a December 4 meeting of community leaders with Virginia's Secretary of Public Safety Brian Moran, along with Parole Board Chair Adrianne Bennett, for the purpose of promoting parole reform, followed by a public meeting at JMU.

Addendum 12/1/24

19. Played a significant role in having Delegate Tony Wilt co-sponsor legislation to have our community finally having a state-funded Public Defender office, a dream becoming a reality in January, 2025

Addendum 7/7/25

20. Is launching a court observation program in collaboration with local citizen volunteers and with students from local universities starting in September, 2025.

Anyone interested in local reforms such as the above are welcome to take part in VJC's second and fourth Monday conversation and strategy sessions. https://www.vjcharrisonburg.org/

Practicing Good Soul Care/Whole Care

Graphic by Christ Community Church, Helena, Alabama

I remember years ago when then governor Jesse Ventura of Minnesota, former wrestler turned politician, made the off handed comment in an interview that religion was for “weak minded people who need strength in numbers.” His remark set off a furor of negative reaction all across the nation.

In the aftermath some 68 churches in Minneapolis-Saint Paul decided to respond in a positive way. They took out a full page ad in the November 19, 1999, Star-Tribune with the headline, “Strength for the Weak-Minded,” then listed the addresses of all 68 sponsoring congregations, followed by the words “Look for a workout location near you.”

Actually, Jesse (nicknamed “The Body”) had a point. All of us human beings are more than a little weak-minded at times, and have a need to belong to a good support network. For many, this will be a family of faith who are there for us when we are experiencing losses and challenges in our lives, and who help us become healthier and less selfish people.

You may have heard the statement, "The church isn't meant to be a museum for saints, but a hospital for sinners." But I rather like the metaphor of congregations being a "workout location" for those aspiring to be healthier day-to-day "saints" even better. Just as join Wellness Centers to gain better physical health, why not become a part of group of people focused on emotional, relational and spiritual wellness?

Just look for a good location near you.

Come Out To Support Gemeinschaft Home's Bold New 2020 Vision!

At the Park View Mennonite Church

Hear about how Gemeinschaft Home is about to enter a new chapter in its service to our community. Also, enjoy some great Bowl of Good food and hear original songs and real life stories from Gemeinschaft residents and alumni. There will also be a video presentation and a special tribute to the late Gerry Rush, who served as treasurer of the Home for many years and was one of its most avid supporters. 

Please sign up by phone (434-1690) or email  execdir@gemeinschafthome.org by 4/1!

P.S. Gemeinschaft has just received a grant from Merck for a third of the cost of a solar project for the Home that will save $5000-6000 a year for the next 25-30 years. You can contribute here https://www.gemeinschafthome.org or at the dinner!

Senator Deeds Addresses Mental Health Concerns At Local Forum

This is a rare opportunity to hear Creigh Deeds' story and his passion for
improving mental health services in Virginia.

The Bible Leans More Socialist Than You Think

When it comes to wealth, God clearly favors equality 

I find it interesting how much attention the Bible gives to the issue of equity and justice with regard to how wealth is to be distributed. In the first five books of the Bible, the Torah (or Law, which means it contains more than mere suggestions), Israelite citizens are commanded to redistribute their land every fifty years (Leviticus 25), and to cancel all debts every seven years (Deuteronomy 15). The purpose of this is so there will be "no poor among you." 

This same phrase is used to describe the sharing of goods in Acts 2, associated with the founding of a new community of a Jewish Jubilee in which there were "no poor among them." 

Then's there's the forever "new heaven and new earth" where God finally rules supreme, and where all hunger, thirst and poverty are wiped away and all are blessed alike. To me that looks like an ultimate form of God-ordered socialism. 

And here on earth, families are God-ordained units that, as representations of heaven on earth, have everyone producing according to their ability and everyone receiving according to their need. 

Shouldn't the church seek to be that kind of God-governed outpost, demonstrating what it looks like when God's will is being done here on earth as it is in heaven? 
See II Corinthians 8:13-15.

A Son's Tribute For His Father's Funeral

Brian's father Allen 1937-2019

Brian Brubaker is the oldest son of my friend Allen Brubaker, whose memorial service I attended last Saturday, along with hundreds of others.  Brian, who was painfully absent due to his serving a sentence at the Augusta Correctional Center near Craigsville, has demonstrated a remarkably changed life, and has been a great blessing to his family and to countless others.

He wrote the following touching tribute to be read at the service:

Dear Friends and Family:

It brings me deep sorrow that I cannot be present today, but since I have received much mercy and grace from my father for the circumstances I find myself in, I want to at least honor him by telling of his ministry to me.

In recent years I’ve gotten to know my father better. He has helped me learn that none of us is perfect. Whatever his own slight imperfections were, I value them because they brought him to know his need for a savior and he passed that onto his children. 

Ralph Waldo Emerson is credited as being one of the early authors of the thought that our brokenness is what lets the light in. I know my father had Christ’s light living within him, and he will now be forever alive in Christ.

My life has been a desert the last ten years, but my father truly lived Isaiah 35 as he reached out to me and brought me the light of Jesus.

“The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad. The desert shall rejoice and blossom. Like the

crocus, it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing…

… Strengthen the weak hands and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are of a

fearful heart, “Be strong, do not fear, here is your God... he will come and save you.”

In some ways this is happening already for me. My father treasured the body of Christ, and worked his whole life for it. And now I am reaping the benefits of that work, because many of you here today have become Dad’s friends. Your visits and kindness to me have sustained me and have answered the promise of Isaiah 35.

May all our pain, fear, and discomfort be lost in the love of Jesus.

Your Kingdom Highway Companion.

Brian

WITH Offers Hospitality For Jail Visitors

The RISE church location is in the former Ragtime Fabrics building, just across the corner
 from the Rockingham/Harrisonburg Jail.

Friends and family members of inmates at our local jail sign in early on Saturday mornings for their weekly visit, then typically have to wait for up to an hour for their turn to spend time with their loved ones. Space in the jail lobby is limited, so many wait in their cars or on the jail steps.

For some months now, interested volunteers who have created a local effort called WITH have utilized space made available by the nearby RISE Church to welcome folks in for snacks, coffee, tea and a warm place to hang out and talk during their wait. The number of guests has ranged from six to over twenty, and more have been showing up as word gets around.

WITH provides an atmosphere that is informal and invitational.

Guests often welcome the chance to talk about some of the stress they experience having a loved one incarcerated. In one case a woman from Maryland had been released from jail at midnight on a winter night and had nowhere to go and no way to get back home. After spending the night in the jail lobby, she met a volunteer who invited her to come by for coffee and conversation. WITH volunteers got some money together for a bus ticket for her to get back to Maryland.

In April WITH hopes to open its doors for the Saturday evening visitation time as well.