I was at a meeting last week with the Ct DOC officials that are charged with starting Buddhist gatherings in order for the inmates to practice together in a formal service.

Some of the tasks that came out of the meeting were:

1- A steady supply of leaders to lead the services and to keep them going.  I have been tasked with finding those individuals that would be interested in doing this.  It will require becoming a volunteer chaplain which entails a background security check and a day of training.  You will be INSIDE the prison walls and holding the gathering where they decide.  I believe there are 18 prisons in the state in various locations that you can find on the web or email me for a list if you don't have web access. 

2- The format will need to be as generic as we can make it, and we need to try to include the major types of Buddhism as much as possible...they don't want to have four or five different Buddhist services every week as that would strain their resources.

There was more but this is what we will need to get started. 

Any of you out there that would be interested in volunteering for this or know of someone who would be willing to meet with others to discuss where to go from here please contact me...

nortonsleeper@hotmail.com

Ron Shepherd

Prison Outreach Coordinator

Buddhist Faith Fellowship of Ct