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| Susan M. Recinella, Clinical Psychologist for mentally ill adults, and
Catholic Lay Minister to Families of the Executed |
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Upcoming Events:
2009 Interantional Conference of the Association of Christian Therapists
Healing through Social Justice: Meeting Jesus in the Matginalized
17 – 21 September 2009
Wyndham Jacksonville Riverwalk Hotel & Conference Center
1515 Prudential Drive
Jacksonville, Florida 32207 USA
phone: (904) 396-5100
Dale S. Recinella and Dr. Susan M. Recinella are two of the featured speakers:
Saturday September 19th
1:15 – 2:30 pm
Crying with Mary at the Foot of the Cross: Ministry to the Condemned and their Loved Ones and to the Families of Murder Victims
Dale S. Recinella. J.D., M.T.S. and Susan M. Recinella, Psy.D.
Monday September 21st
9:30 – 10:20
Touching the Hidden Face of the Institutionalized Mentally Ill: Chronically Mentally Ill Women
Susan M. Recinella, Psy.D.
Dale’s book, The Biblical Truth about America’s Death Penalty, will be available for purchase and signing.
For conference information, contact:
Association of Christian Therapists (ACT)
6728 Old McClean Village Drive
McClean, VA 22101-3906 USA
phone: (703) 556-9222 and Web page:
www.actheals.org
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God’s Kingdom behind the Walls
By: Dale S. Recinella
The famed particle physicist and Noble prize laureate Erwin Schrödinger once said, “If you cannot—in the long run—tell everyone what you have
been doing, your doing has been worthless.”
He was referring to the invisible thousands of hours spent in the recesses of his physics laboratories, researching what is unseen and
unknown to most of humanity. Accountability demanded an explanation of his work that would make it visible to all.
Such a universal principle can apply to kingdom work as well. When Mother Teresa was asked what she spent her time doing, her stock answer
was, “Come and see.” An invitation easily given for her work in the streets, accessible to all who dared to traverse the slums of Calcutta.
With such transparency, accountability is automatic.
But what if one’s field of kingdom work is not accessible, not transparent? What if the needs are hidden in the recesses of massive buildings
bounded by walls of razor wire and guard turrets? What if the desperately needy are hidden in darkness, unseen and unknown to most of humanity?
Such is the plight of the institutionalized mentally ill and the condemned on death row. The kingdom workers whom God has blessed with access
to them bear a double duty—to make God’s love visible and manifest inside the hospital and prison walls, and to make the humanity of their
hidden suffering manifest outside those walls.
My wife, Susan, works with severely mentally ill women at a large state hospital. I minister cell-to-cell on the second largest death row
in the U.S. We work as a ministry team caring for the condemned and their families during executions. We’ve been asked by the Association
of Christian Therapists (ACT) to share at the September 2009 International Conference our experiences of God’s kingdom behind the walls.
It will be an opportunity to bring you inside with us—to make the humanity of the unseen needy visible to you, and to share with you how
the power of the Gospel and the Holy Spirit is manifested inside those walls.
We hope to see you at the conference. [See above for information.]
First published: The Healing Line (September/October 2009)
© 2009 Dale S. Recinella
Used with permission. All rights reserved.
No further reproduction or republication without prior written permission.
www.iwasinprison.org
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I Was In Prison
News & Updates
This ezine is targeted for people involved in prison ministry or in stopping the death penalty, we think you will find helpful information for people who are undecided about capital punishment, for those who have never experienced the inside of a jail or prison, and for those who feel called to participate through prayer and adoration.
Your name and information will never be used or shared with anyone. We promise!
Dale S. Recinella, Catholic Lay Chaplain, Florida Death Row and Solitary Confinement
Susan M. Recinella, Clinical Psychologist for mentally ill adults, and
Catholic Lay Minister to Families of the Executed |
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