PRISON MINISTRY

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​Na Pa‘ahao o Hawai‘i (The Prisoners of Hawai‘i)

The prison ministries and prison reform initiative of the Hawai‘i Diocese of the Episcopal Church, promotes rehabilitation, restoration, and therapeutic programs through research, re-education, advocacy, and community organization.

Based on new awareness and learnings, as well as courageous voices and visions that have evolved over time, the movement of reforming both the prisons and the criminal justice system in Hawai‘i is here. The time has come for everyone to review and reassess the past, and begin the long process of education and advocacy in order to begin to reform and make a new, just, and more merciful prison and criminal justice system of Hawai‘i.

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Makahiki Celebrations

​This program helps prepare a prison group to celebrate Makahiki, a four-month festival that punctuated the yearly farming cycle in ancient Hawaiʻi. Celebrating harvest and Lono, the Hawaiian god associated with rain and fecundity, Makahiki marked a temporary halt to activities of war and occasioned lesser changes in many other daily routines.

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The BacPac Project

When prisoners are released, the simple gesture of providing essentials in a backpack can mean a lot for those with little or no support once they leave the correctional facility.  Churches around the Diocese have adopted this program, supplying filled backpacks, along with pillows and bed sheets, and bless them during their Sunday services.  When prisoners are released, they are greeted by someone from this ministry and are given these welcomed gifts.

For those released from prison, compassionate, prayerful, and material support and assistance is required.  A network of counselors, churches, and community agencies and organizations can weave a beautiful lei of encouragement and hope for the challenging journey of re-entry and re-integration.