SOCPM Newsletter | June 18, 2022

Greetings,

First to all the dads, Happy Fathers Day!

Until the administrations of Dixon and Sheridan Correctional Centers lift the lockdowns on volunteers, there is not much SOCPM news to report. So instead of sending you a newsletter with little news of interest on what is happening in SOCPM , I've decided, with Sunday, June 19th being Father's Day, to try and share one of the whys of my passions in serving God in the prisons.

Bringing the Gospel is paramount, but second, to that is fatherhood. Though my heart has a lot to share, putting the passions of my heart to words is not my gift. So, I will spare you having to attempt to read a long wordy newsletter.

Instead, I have some quotes on quotes being fatherless, thankfulness for fathers, links to articles and statistics on featherless and what does the Bible say about fatherhood.

I could include many more statistics and articles and share personal testimonies of some of my students. However, as passionate as fatherhood is to me, I don't want to overdo it. But, if you are intersted on more resources on fatherhood contact SOCPM

To Him be the glory in ALL things and Him alone,

Scott Kalas
Soldiers of Christ Prison Ministries

Quotes 1

Rapper Tupac Shakur, who was murdered in 1996, wrote: “I know for a fact that had I had a father, I’d have some discipline. I’d have more confidence. Your mother can’t calm you down the way a man can.” Growing up without a father to guide him, Mr. Shakur gravitated to street gangs.

The existentialist philosopher Albert Camus, who also grew up fatherless, wrote in a manuscript discovered after his death: “I need someone to guide me. I need someone to praise me, to chastise me not with his power, but with his authority. I need my father.”

Prossy, her children, and her home.

What the Bible say about fatherhood

And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” - Joshua 24:15

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate - Psalm 127:3-5

My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights. - Proverbs 3:11-12

The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him. - Proverbs 23:24

Discipline your son, for there is hope; do not set your heart on putting him to death. - Proverbs 19:18

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. - Ephesians 6:4

Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. - Colossians 3:21

To all the Dads, despite what culture says, do not give up the fight, do not turn away but fight the good fight in your call to fatherhood. Happy Father's Day!

My father was an alcoholic, my parents divorced when I was eight, and he died when I was 18. He was absent more times than he was present, but despite his, at times, physical absence, his love for us three kids never was absent. He, along with my mom, taught us to respect others, not to judge them not by their actions because you don't always no their heart. There are many things my dad taught me, but the one I try to live daily is to laugh even when it hurts.

Left to Right - Me (Scott), my dad (Elmer), my mom (Mary), my sister (Martina), my brother (Dwight).

Happy Father's Day Dad

[1] Feder, Don. “It's Not Too Many Guns on the Street, but Too Few Fathers in the Home.” The Washington Times, The Washington Times, 16 June 2022, https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/jun/16/its-not-too-many-guns-on-the-street-but-too-few-fa/.

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