One Year Later - Prayers for those in Solitary

In advance of Torture Awareness Month in June 2014, NRCAT and its partners issued a national call for people of faith to compose and share prayers for all who remain in conditions of isolated confinement, and in remembrance of the significance of the one year anniversary of the historic peaceful prisoner hunger strike throughout California prisons which began July 8, 2013 with more than 30,000 participating. The national response to the call for prayer was moving and overwhelming, with more than one hundred prayers submitted in a matter of days. The message is clear: people of faith stand with all who have risked their lives in work for peace and unity.  The prayers share an urgent call for restorative justice and an end to the cruel and inhumane treatment of long-term isolation, and for an end to systems and practices that sow division and distrust. 

On Thursday, June 26, 2014 on the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, advocates met with the California Department of Corrections (CDCR). Representatives of California Families Against Solitary Confinement (CFASC) brought stories of families whose loved ones have been locked under the torture of solitary confinement - some of them for decades. News coverage is available here.

The clergy delegation delivered hundreds of prayers cards submitted by people from diverse faith traditions nationwide, to be distributed to incarcerated people who remain in long-term isolation. Faith leaders echoed the family members’ calls for an end to torture in California prisons, and included: Rev. Ron Stief, executive director, National Religious Campaign Against Torture, Rabbi David Cooper on behalf of T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, Basim Ekarra, executive director of the Sacramento Valley Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Rev. Phillip Lawson, pastor emeritus, Easter Hill United Methodist Church, Richmond, California, Debbie McDermott, Associate Director for Restorative Justice at California Catholic Conference, and Laura Magnani, Program Director, Healing Justice, American Friends Service Committee San Francisco Office.

californiaclergyjune2014  familiesjune2014sacramento 

The spirit of this interfaith and nationwide effort extends to all who remain in solitary confinement and we invite you to submit a prayer for California prisoners who remain in isolation one year after their hunger strike. We invite you to submit a prayer from your faith tradition, in Spanish or English or the sacred language of your religious tradition, emailing your prayer to  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , subject line: Prayer One Year Later.

Download this hardcopy version to submit prayers for distribution in your congregation or community.

Click here for more information about the Hunger Strike. 

I'd love to share this prayer with those who are suffering in solitary confinement: May you know in your being that there are people who care about your suffering and who think of you and your pain. May you know that there are those who are fighting for the injustice being done to you. May you find relief from the pain of isolation and confinement. May you know that you are not alone. May you feel held in the web of life.  --In love and care

~KRP

 

To the Creator of All from the Good That Is In All, We ask You to look upon those who seek to serve the cause of justice and mercy with favor.  We ask for strength, perseverance, wisdom, gentleness, peace, and compassion for all those involved in the systems of incarceration.  We pray that humane methods will be commonly held as the only option for treating one another in all circumstances, and that by communicating goodwill we might begin to restore the Good that you Created us to be.  Amen.

~EA

 

Dear God, I ask you to comfort those who are in solitary confinement. Please don't let them give up hope or lose their dignity. Let them know that they are not forgotten. I thank you for the many people who are moved to act to end the huge overuse of incarceration and solitary confinement. Please help us to create a society where everyone is treated with love. Amen

~Anonymous

 

You are loved. You are not forgotten. You are not invisible. We will not stop fighting for you, and for us all. We stand outside in solidarity, inside our one heart, our collective soul, our spirits calling out for change, our hands working for it. We will not give up.

~J

 

Que Diós lo cuide y lo bendiga. Le mandamos fuerza para perseguir y nuestros mejores deseos de amor y paz.

~FF

 

I trust in some One greater than any law and that gives me HOPE and FREEDOM that no bars can hold.

~Sister M

 

 

God of justice, I pray for anyone who is in isolation and feeling abandoned.  Surround them with an awareness of your presence even when they are discouraged.  Speed their release.  I remember the one who was crucified for unjust reasons.  Amen

~BR

 

Please know that God is ever present everywhere. That means holding you and surrounding you even in Man's prisons. You are a Child of God and loved deeply by your Source of Life and Love and Light. I pray you experience this Truth. We are all connected as One in the Universe.
‎The Ubuntu saying is "I AM, BECAUSE WE ARE "
‎And You Are. Amen. Best Wishes & Blessings

~SM

 

The Four Limitless Wishes
May all beings be happy
May all beings have the causes of happiness
May all beings be free of suffering
May all beings be free of the causes of suffering

-Prayer from the Buddhist tradition for my incarcerated brothers and sisters
I commit myself to your freedom and happiness
May it be so, With Love

~REGV

 

May the Inner Light of the Holy Spirit shine in you and around you and give you the strength to carry on knowing that many others in this country support your action to end solitary confinement.

~CL

 
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On July 8, 2013, a historic peaceful hunger strike throughout California prisons began to challenge conditions of long-term solitary confinement, with more than 30,000 participating. In advance of the one year anniversary, NRCAT and its partners issued a national call for people of faith to compose prayers for all who remain in conditions of isolated confinement. 1,000 prayer cards have been delivered for distribution to individuals in SHU in California.

The message is clear: people of faith stand with all who have risked their lives in work for peace and unity.  The over 100 submitted prayers share an urgent call for restorative justice and an end to the cruel and inhumane treatment of long-term isolation, and call for an end to systems and practices that sow division and distrust. The spirit of this interfaith and nationwide effort extends to all who remain in solitary confinement and we invite you to submit a prayer for California prisoners who remain in isolation one year after their hunger strike. We invite you to submit a prayer from your faith tradition, in Spanish or English or the sacred language of your religious tradition. Email your prayer to campaign@nrcat.org, subject line: Prayer One Year Later.

>> Learn more about how you can get involved in the movement to end solitary confinement.
 
 
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