Bishop Lowry Lands Behind Bars
Central Texas Episcopal Leader Checks In To PrisonToday in Teague, Texas, at approximately 3:30 p.m., the Episcopal Leader of the Central Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church, Bishop J. Michael Lowry, surrendered himself to authorities and became the newest resident at the William R. Boyd Unit of the Texas Prison System. According to reports from the scene, Bishop Lowry was remanded into the custody of the Boyd Unit without incident and even with a sense of excitement and eagerness for what is to come.
That’s because what is to come for Bishop Lowry is not the usual experience of the incarcerated. Rather his prison experience will be as a member of a Kairos Prison Ministry team – something he has been trying to fit into his schedule for years – so that he can bring the word and light of God into one of the darkest places in our society.
The mission of the Kairos Prison Ministry is to bring Christ's love and forgiveness to all incarcerated individuals, their families and those who work with them, and to assist in the transition of becoming a productive citizen. Kairos is an International Christian Ministry with chapters operating in many U.S. states and in countries around the world addressing the spiritual needs of incarcerated men, women and children, and to their families and to those who work in the prison environment. 
The Kairos strategy is to identify leaders from the key environments of the institution, leaders who have the greatest potential to impact their environments with the message of Christ’s love. These leaders are then invited to attend the three-day short course in Christianity where they are introduced to the Kairos community. During his time behind bars, Bishop Lowry and the rest of the team will be leading inmates through a systematic, structured program designed to give selected residents of the Boyd Unit the opportunity to experience a religious renewal and to accept God’s call to a life of Christian witness and service to one another during their stay in the institution and beyond. Please be in prayer for Bishop Lowry, the Kairos team and especially our “brothers in white” to whom they are ministering this weekend.
To learn more about the Kairos Prison Ministry and Kairos of Texas, visit kairostexas.org. Also, check in on Bishop Lowry’s “This Focused Center” blog to read his thoughts, impressions and reflections on the weekend.