Everyday Heroes – Unusual Ones at Warkworth Penitentiary
Yesterday my wife and I spent the afternoon in prison. We were part of a special afternoon dedicated to Restorative Justice and how we can all be involved in one way or another. Wilma Derksen spoke to a large group of people, of which we were apart. The group of people was made up of members of the staff of the institution, guests & volunteers from the community that help with different small groups of men at the prison and most importantly 103 inmates of Warkworth.
Wilma shared her story of the murder of her daughter. She also shared the larger journey she has taken with the discovery of Restorative Justice and how she is part of this idea. In all, it has helped her to find a relief from the great tragedy of their family. The person that committed this terrible crime has never been found. There have never been charges or convictions. For the Derksen family it will “never be over”.
For my wife and me it was the first time that we have heard Wilma present her story to a group of inmates that included a number of men who were convicted of murder. Watching their reactions and hearing their questions was the most interesting part of the afternoon. It was truly moving as you may well have guessed.
Unusual Heroes…
I am pondering the words of Monty Burke, the Warden, since yesterday. As he spoke earlier in the session, while welcoming each one that had come to take part in the day, he told a story of a local tragic event that had affected everyone in the prison.
The prison that we refer to as Warkworth Correctional Institution is a federal prison which is the largest one of Correctional Services Canada. It houses around 700 men. It is built a few miles to the east of a small village of Warkworth, Ontario.
Just north of the institution and the town there is the small town of Campbellford, Ontario. It was highlighted in the local media of our area with a tragic event of the death of two young teenagers in a house fire.
Monty Burke explained that one of the staff members of Warkworth institution serves the Campbellford community as its volunteer fire chief. After the fire and the turmoil that followed the fire chief shared with the inmates what had happened. Their reaction was very powerful.
Yesterday Monty Burke told the audience that the inmates had collected over $9600 for the family to help them out. Out of their own hard earned money they had collected a huge offering to help these people that lost so much. They hadn’t known them other than the report that they had received in the media.
To help you understand, almost all of the inmates at the institution work at a “job” on the inside. For example they work in cleaning, food preparation and numerous other tasks around the prison. They are paid a very small wage which could be up to around $5.00 a day. The money they earn helps to buy various “canteen items” that are made available to them, cigarettes, candy and other things that they may need. From the small salaries they receive they brought together $9600 as a gift.
A few years ago many of these same men heard of a need that we had in our community as well. A father of five children, an inmate at Warkworth, had died suddenly. His family lived in Peterborough. The death happened just before Christmas time. I received a call from the Chaplain at that time who informed me that the men had collected about $1500 and asked him to buy Christmas gift for the inmates family.
Yesterday…
Yesterday our topic was about Restorative Justice. It was about taking responsibility of your crimes. It was about the understanding of each other – the victims particularly and also the ex-offenders. It was about one community meeting and realizing the needs of the other.
In the meeting the warden had explained a powerful and simple story how the men had responded. These guys were everyday heroes – unusual ones at that.
My question…
Is this not where restorative justice begins? It is when the needs of one group are recognized by the needs of another. It is particularly powerful when one group acts on what they now know and understand, then begin to reach out to the other group and express their compassion.
What an example for the rest of us. Can you imagine what our communities might be like if we all responded in like fashion?
Wow! Thank you guys… of Warkworth. You may never read this on a computer screen – but I salute you today.
~ Pastor Murray ~
Links to stories of Wilma Derksen’s journey
By doing a Google Search using Wilma Derksen you will get over 41,000 responses… some are..
http://www.mcc.org/news/news/2006/2006-10-20_findingforgiveness.html
http://www.christianity.ca/faith/christian-living/2006/10.002.html
http://abbynews.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=38&cat=23&id=768068&more=
Wilma shared her story of the murder of her daughter. She also shared the larger journey she has taken with the discovery of Restorative Justice and how she is part of this idea. In all, it has helped her to find a relief from the great tragedy of their family. The person that committed this terrible crime has never been found. There have never been charges or convictions. For the Derksen family it will “never be over”.
For my wife and me it was the first time that we have heard Wilma present her story to a group of inmates that included a number of men who were convicted of murder. Watching their reactions and hearing their questions was the most interesting part of the afternoon. It was truly moving as you may well have guessed.
Unusual Heroes…
I am pondering the words of Monty Burke, the Warden, since yesterday. As he spoke earlier in the session, while welcoming each one that had come to take part in the day, he told a story of a local tragic event that had affected everyone in the prison.
The prison that we refer to as Warkworth Correctional Institution is a federal prison which is the largest one of Correctional Services Canada. It houses around 700 men. It is built a few miles to the east of a small village of Warkworth, Ontario.
Just north of the institution and the town there is the small town of Campbellford, Ontario. It was highlighted in the local media of our area with a tragic event of the death of two young teenagers in a house fire.
Monty Burke explained that one of the staff members of Warkworth institution serves the Campbellford community as its volunteer fire chief. After the fire and the turmoil that followed the fire chief shared with the inmates what had happened. Their reaction was very powerful.
Yesterday Monty Burke told the audience that the inmates had collected over $9600 for the family to help them out. Out of their own hard earned money they had collected a huge offering to help these people that lost so much. They hadn’t known them other than the report that they had received in the media.
To help you understand, almost all of the inmates at the institution work at a “job” on the inside. For example they work in cleaning, food preparation and numerous other tasks around the prison. They are paid a very small wage which could be up to around $5.00 a day. The money they earn helps to buy various “canteen items” that are made available to them, cigarettes, candy and other things that they may need. From the small salaries they receive they brought together $9600 as a gift.
A few years ago many of these same men heard of a need that we had in our community as well. A father of five children, an inmate at Warkworth, had died suddenly. His family lived in Peterborough. The death happened just before Christmas time. I received a call from the Chaplain at that time who informed me that the men had collected about $1500 and asked him to buy Christmas gift for the inmates family.
Yesterday…
Yesterday our topic was about Restorative Justice. It was about taking responsibility of your crimes. It was about the understanding of each other – the victims particularly and also the ex-offenders. It was about one community meeting and realizing the needs of the other.
In the meeting the warden had explained a powerful and simple story how the men had responded. These guys were everyday heroes – unusual ones at that.
My question…
Is this not where restorative justice begins? It is when the needs of one group are recognized by the needs of another. It is particularly powerful when one group acts on what they now know and understand, then begin to reach out to the other group and express their compassion.
What an example for the rest of us. Can you imagine what our communities might be like if we all responded in like fashion?
Wow! Thank you guys… of Warkworth. You may never read this on a computer screen – but I salute you today.
~ Pastor Murray ~
Links to stories of Wilma Derksen’s journey
By doing a Google Search using Wilma Derksen you will get over 41,000 responses… some are..
http://www.mcc.org/news/news/2006/2006-10-20_findingforgiveness.html
http://www.christianity.ca/faith/christian-living/2006/10.002.html
http://abbynews.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=38&cat=23&id=768068&more=
posted by Murray Lincoln at
Friday, November 17, 2006
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