Death Row Penpals

This is how you go about getting a penpal on death row

First go to this site:
http://www.lampofhope.org/penpals.html
pick out somebody you want to write to. Each person has a little blurb written by them when you click on the name

Then go to this site:
http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/offendersondrow.htm
Look up the person to see if they're still on death row. The lamp of hope site is not well updated, so they might have gotten off death row or been executed. Also I'm sure that the Lamp of Hope site is not exhaustive so if you find somebody listed on this site that you want to write, feel free.

Then write them a letter

Then put it in an envelope with their address listed as:
Their Name and #
Polunsky Unit
3872 FM 350 South
Livingston, Texas 77351

Then put a stamp on it and stick it in the mailbox

Birth on the Kiniry Ranch

So these babies were born like 30 minutes before I took this picture. A baby boy and a baby girl. So cute! So y'all are probably going to want to plan the Kiniry Ranch Official House Retreat as soon as possible before they get much bigger.

Having a "worship service" at the park

So about this idea of having a worshipful community gathering at the park that is in addition to the potlucks. Let's share ideas for it on this blog if y'all want.

Here's what I was thinking: We wouldn't want it to suck. How can we make that not happen?

We could have an offering box, where people could give money, clothes, toiletries, sleeping bags, cigarettes, food or whatever they'd like to share. Then somebody could distribute it to people who need it. Like people who need help paying the bills in their house could get some of the money, as well as people who are just broke.

Communion with real wine, and Blue Baker bread. Or malt liquor if we really want people to come.

Tyler hates music, so no music. Unless it's wildly original. Or we could have music just to make Tyler mad.

And what about the folks who just speak spanish? Could we make it bilingual?

We could have people bring a teaching, but if somebody talks longer than 5 minutes I'll probably want to kill myself. I can imagine that we'll have to do something to keep people from thinking "It must be such a pleasure for people to hear me blather on for hours in spiritual jargon so I'll just keep going!" and I'd be in the back trying to drink poison. But it would be cool, as long as we can guarantee that every teaching would be mind-bendingly simple and beautiful. Just kidding, but that would be nice. Maybe if John gives the teaching every time.

Also, we could set up a confession booth in the bathrooms at the park, where the confessor sits on the commode and the confessee sits on the sink. What do y'all think?

In addition, are we going to pray to Mary?

JK LOL but seriously are we?

Let's get together with Lenni and Linda and E and Leon and Lauren and other potluck people and everyone else who would be interested and talk about it.

I love the idea of a church where the offering only goes to people who need it, a church where there's no overhead.

What do y'all think?

Funeral

Hey guys, 

Dale's funeral is on Saturday at 3 p.m. in Caldwell. 

Does anyone want to go? 

Janet

A Poem about Dale Ellis:

a crow flew here one fall day.
squaking,
crapping on things.
cocked his head
this way and that.

and at the seeds i threw,
pecked.
almost grateful.
cocked his head
this way and that.
maybe to see
if i watched it
like some watch
hummingbirds.

i didn't.

when i saw
its carcass on the sidewalk,
i turned my head
this way and that.
almost broken-hearted.

confused,
I turned, leaving
inevitable scavengers
to collect.