Kairos E-News #100 - Current News for Kairos Volunteers – November 2019 “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" Micah 6:8 Prayer and Service (Evelyn Lemly, CEO) Busy Time of Year Fall and early winter season brings many Weekends for Kairos Inside, Kairos Outside, and Kairos Torch. That means thousands of volunteers are working to support the program, plan for events, in the midst of conducting the program, in prayer, and on and on. Thank you to all for your diligence and heartfelt service. Let’s also remember the full Kairos program is Weekends plus Continuing Ministry and we want every graduate to have the full experience. During the Weekends we introduce them to the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ and at the Continuing Ministry we encourage them and provide means for accountability to grow in that love. We all know the relationship with Jesus is a journey and we need to ensure we are doing the follow up during the journey. It’s also election time for our Advisory Councils and State Chapters. The leadership locally is the backbone of Kairos that enables it to work and continue from year to year. If God is calling you please say yes and then serve him with all your heart, mind, soul and strength daily. He deserves your best and Kairos is His ministry. When the body works together and each person is pulling their weight the work is easier for all. Plus each person learns and grows themselves. Want to be a better leader? Then step up and take on a role in Kairos, and if you take it seriously you will grow – guaranteed! Remember all roles are important and necessary to make the local community successful. Board of Directors Update (Steve Smith, Board Chair) “As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake for they were fishermen. ‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will send you out to fish for people.’ At once they left their nets and followed him.” Matthew 4:18-20 Last week the Board of Directors gathered in Dallas, TX for our fall retreat where we reviewed our Vision Priorities from the Strategic Plan, had committee reports and planned for the coming years. We began our time together by sharing our personal faith stories and times in our lives when we felt God was calling us into His service. It was such a blessing to hear each person’s
Transcript
Kairos E-News #100 - Current News for Kairos Volunteers – November 2019
“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" Micah 6:8
Prayer and Service (Evelyn Lemly, CEO)
Busy Time of Year
Fall and early winter season brings many Weekends for Kairos Inside, Kairos Outside, and Kairos Torch. That means thousands of volunteers are working to support the program, plan for events, in the midst of conducting the program, in prayer, and on and on. Thank you to all for your diligence and heartfelt service. Let’s also remember the full Kairos program is Weekends plus Continuing Ministry and we want every graduate to have the full experience. During the Weekends we introduce them to the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ and at the Continuing Ministry we encourage them and provide means for accountability to grow in that love. We all know the relationship with Jesus is a journey and we need to ensure we are doing the follow up during the journey.
It’s also election time for our Advisory Councils and State Chapters. The leadership locally is the backbone of Kairos that enables it to work and continue from year to year. If God is calling you please say yes and then serve him with all your heart, mind, soul and strength daily. He deserves your best and Kairos is His ministry. When the body works together and each person is pulling their weight the work is easier for all. Plus each person learns and grows themselves. Want to be a better leader? Then step up and take on a role in Kairos, and if you take it seriously you will grow – guaranteed! Remember all roles are important and necessary to make the local community successful.
Board of Directors Update (Steve Smith, Board Chair)
“As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake for they were fishermen. ‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will send you out to fish for people.’ At once they left their nets and followed him.” Matthew 4:18-20
Last week the Board of Directors gathered in Dallas, TX for our fall retreat where we reviewed our Vision Priorities from the Strategic Plan, had committee reports and planned for the coming years. We began our time together by sharing our personal faith stories and times in our lives when we felt God was calling us into His service. It was such a blessing to hear each person’s
stories of faith, and the willingness to let down their guard and become vulnerable to one another allowed us to share God’s grace and love in a deeper way. It reminded me of how our Thursday nights on Kairos Weekends begin to draw us closer to the participants as we practice the 4 “L’s… Listen, Listen, Love, Love.”
I share this to remind us all that its election season. Over the next few weeks Advisory Councils, State Committees, the International Council, and the Board of Directors will begin the process of finding new members to serve and lead. God may be calling you. I pray that you will be listening.
This morning I watched a video from our Annual Conference when Cleve Bell (one of the “9 Old Men”) shared stories and wisdom from 43 years of Kairos. With a big smile and a laugh he talked about how they just wanted to “do another Weekend”, while some of the men understood the need for planning, and looking to the future. Without that important forward thinking and planning we might not be here today. He said that God had always provided the right people, in the right place and at the right time. I believe that He is still doing that today and YOU may be part of His plan. I pray you will say yes when asked and be listening to God’s call in your life.
International Council Update (Lisa A. Trahan, International Council President)
Committees and Subcommittees of the International Council
As a representative of the International Council each member is assigned to a committee or a subcommittee. The expectation is for each representative to actively participate, by conducting research, providing input and feedback on matters tasked to the committee. The committees are actually created by the International Council President in consultation with the CEO. A committee must support a specific area of the mission, vision and programs of Kairos. International Council Representatives are assigned to a committee or subcommittee each January following the State Chapter Council elections. Each committee is led by a co-chair appointed by the International Council President in consultation with the CEO.
The current committees and subcommittees are: • Ministry Coordination Committee
o Kairos Inside Subcommittee o Kairos Outside Subcommittee o Kairos Torch Subcommittee
• Program Evaluation Committee • Communications Improvement Committee • Volunteer and Guest Recruiting Committee
This month let’s take a look at the responsibilities of the Ministry Coordination Committee. This committee is charged with monitoring the implementation and integration of the Kairos program elements consistent with Kairos manuals and policies. Also, they review program
changes recommended by Kairos staff as well as propose changes to the program elements to the Kairos staff.
As outlined by the Ministry Coordination Committee Charter the tasks include:
• Foster unity within the Kairos programs, embrace commonalities and promote awareness of ministry-wide challenges and endeavors.
• Actively seek opportunities to promote Kairos Inside, Kairos Outside and Kairos Torch as one ministry that shares the Mission of Kairos.
• Communicate the scope of existing Kairos Inside, Kairos Outside, and Kairos Torch programs and the opportunities that are being explored.
• Ensure that any change in one program does not adversely affect any other program. • Identify appropriate responses to ways the subcommittees can naturally enhance one
another.
The Ministry Coordination Committee consists of three members from each of the Kairos Inside, Kairos Outside, and Kairos Torch Sub-committees. The purpose of each subcommittee is to assist the Ministry Coordination Committee to meet its responsibilities specifically with respect to the ministry in adult prisons, for women whose lives have been impacted by incarceration and youth in correctional facilities.
Now that the fall ‘season’ of Kairos Weekends is winding down, we have a lot of Kairos graduates to continue ministering to and help in their spiritual journey! Kairos isn’t just a Weekend - it is a Weekend AND Continuing Ministry. Everyone’s focus now should be on how to engage our graduates to continue in Kairos. I have used continue in a lot in these sentences on purpose! It is all about continuing.
I would ask your new graduates if they ‘get’ Prayer and Share and understand the purpose of it - to put them in an accountability group of their peers in their community. If they say no, why not take a few minutes at the beginning of Prayer and Share to do some more training? If you train the graduates, the outcome will be better! This is just an idea, but a good place to start might be to read and discuss one of the sections on pages 305-317 in the Program Manual each week. The topics are each one of the Prayer and Share questions. A Volunteer could read them to the group and have a discussion or make a copy for each small group and give them 10-15 minutes to do the same in the small group before doing Prayer and Share. That would give background of the importance of each question. Each question has a purpose - a very important purpose. They are meant to guide the graduates closer to Jesus and have people they live with to hold them accountable. Please don’t distill the questions or make them easier or let the graduates off the hook of answering. This is how lives change - through continual, purposeful, sometimes hard, always loving accountability.
While there are very few Kairos Weekends done completely in Spanish around the United States, we know and understand that there many Weekend Guests and Participants whose first language is Spanish. We often get requests from volunteers for Spanish translations of key documents, and materials used on the Weekend and/or during Kairos Continuing Ministry. Currently on mykairos.org the following documents are available in Spanish for your use.
Kairos Outside Guest Reservation Form (Guest Version) Kairos Outside Guest Reservation Form from Kairos Inside or Kairos Torch Resident Sample Letter from Kairos Inside or Kairos Torch Resident to Kairos Outside Guest Kairos Outside Guest Brochure Kairos Outside Brochure for Volunteers Kairos Inside Brochure for Volunteers Kairos Torch Brochure for Volunteers Kairos Outside Confidential Medical Form Kairos Outside Weekend Review Form – Team Kairos Outside Weekend Review Form – Guests
In addition to all the documents available on mykairos.org. You can also order Spanish translations of the following materials from Kairos Prison Ministry International. They are found on the supply order form which is also found on the web site at www.mykairos.org/order.
Kairos Inside Program Manual Kairos Outside Program Manual Freedom Guides Kairos Inside Grouping Cards S.W.A.P. Cards Kairos Inside Brochure for Volunteers Kairos Outside Brochure for Volunteers Kairos Torch Brochure for Volunteers
On rare occasions we may encounter a resident at the youth facility who is uncooperative or argumentative. You are encouraged not to take this behavior personally. Never attempt to argue with the youth, as this may inadvertently lead to an escalation of the situation. Never allow yourself to respond abruptly to the youth’s abusive or negative overtures. Their inability to manage a social relationship is almost always a part of their need for care. Take a long pause, think about their need (not your pride) and then respond in a steady calm voice with words that recognize their pain and can sooth their wounded spirit. Remember Proverbs 15: says, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”
Monthly Mentoring Tips: Mentorship is beneficial for the mentors too. "We tend to think that mentorship was designed to help the mentees, the up-and-coming. But mentorship helps the mentor too. To be a mentor makes you a more understanding human being. It keeps your mind young and your skills fresh. Successful people who don’t start to mentor others will over time lose touch with their own excellence. Mentoring someone connects you back to the original you…" Marten Mickos, CEO of HackerOne.
Tools for Fundraising with Giving Tuesday (Bill McVay, Marketing Specialist)
Kairos is proud to participate in Giving Tuesday, a global day of collective action and giving back held on December 3, 2019! We encourage each Kairos Program to use this opportunity to engage supporters and offer them a chance to give back, whether that is financially, with volunteer hours, agape, prayers, or any other way.
We have created some tools for Kairos Programs to use which are available for download at www.mykairos.org/givingtuesday.html. These tools include fundraising email and direct mail templates which can be easily customized for your location as well as social media images and post ideas. A PDF explaining how donors can create a Facebook Fundraisers and have the funds allocated to a specific state or Advisory Council is also available. Encourage your social media followers to share how they plan on giving back on #GivingTuesday and why Kairos is important to them.
Let’s use Giving Tuesday as an opportunity to ensure that all upcoming Weekends are fully funded and also have the funds needed to recruit new volunteers. Please contact [email protected] for assistance in setting up your Giving Tuesday campaigns.
Registration is now open for the 2020 Annual Conference at The Crowne Plaza Louisville Airport Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky. The dates for the conference will be July 21, 2020 – July 25, 2020. We are planning to have new workshops with new presenters, great nightly speakers with
powerful testimonies and, as always, a wonderful time of teaching, worship and fellowship. This year there are many new workshop topics to give you tools and inspiration to take back home to use in both Kairos Weekends and in the Continuing Ministry. We will be bringing back our well-received ministry informational booths that gives volunteers a chance to ask their specific questions for the various tools including Communication, KairosDonor, Ezra, Excellence Initiative and Recruitment. Please note the deadline for registration is June 21, 2020. See www.mykairos.org/conference.html for the registration form and full details.
The 2020 Kairos State Chapter Committee and Advisory Council elections are well under way. Elections must be completed by December 1st and recorded in KairosMessenger by the Secretary, no later than December 31st. I have worked with many Advisory Councils Secretaries to walk them through using the KairosMessenger election tools. The response has been extremely positive. Some Advisory Councils have had a few challenges as their elections last year were not recorded properly. This can easily be corrected by contacting me through email ([email protected]). Read what some of the responses have been from users.
“My experience using KairosMessenger for [our] elections, overall, has been one of success. We're still completing the election process for 2020. This is the second year for us using the tool. The first year had a bit of a learning curve but it was not steep. There were copious training materials provided and lots of technical support... I highly recommend taking the time to learn to use the tool as that time will pay dividends in the long run. It makes complete sense for all our Advisory Council's to have a "tool of record" for completing this important task.” Blessings, Steve
“After spending some time watching the videos on how to use Kairos Messenger for our Advisory Council Elections, I found the tool very helpful. The KairosMessenger elections tool makes the e-mail process a breeze. I found navigating to the first election e-mail for nominations hard to find, but probably just me because I had to relearn from last year. Over all very helpful.”
Joe
New Kairos Conference Call Email Address
Kairos has created a new email address, [email protected] to be used for all requests for conference call lines. Please use this email address instead of sending your request to a specific Kairos staff member.
Kairos Weekend Cancellations and Rescheduling
If for any reason a scheduled Weekend needs to be cancelled or rescheduled, you must notify both your state by emailing your state chair and the KPMI office by submitting your amended dates to www.mykairos.org/register.html.
Certificates of Insurance
All requests for certificates of insurance for Kairos events must be directed to Becky Dotson at [email protected].
• The newly launched Kairos Prison Ministry Online Store offers a variety of official apparel including t-shirts, polo shirts, and jackets in both male and female models, plus an ever growing number of promotional items such as canvas bags, water bottles, and more! Visit www.kpmistore.com and purchase your Kairos Inside, Kairos Outside, and Kairos Torch gear today!
• Kairos Threads offers quality custom machine embroidered Kairos, Kairos Outside, and Kairos Torch apparel and accessories at www.kairosthreads.com!
• Longtime Kairos volunteer Scott Maycumber offers a variety of quality Kairos products in his New Thread Designs Etsy Shop!
Note: All orders are directly with the vendor and Kairos has no involvement in the ordering process
Kairos Recruitment Business Cards
Newly added to the supply order form are recruitment business cards! These two-sided cards allow you to write in your contact information and leave them with potential volunteers. On the back, the recruit can write their contact information as well as how they are interested in volunteering. Each advisory council can order a pack of 50 for free, until we run out.
New Documents Available on MyKairos.org
• 2020 Chart of Accounts Glossary www.mykairos.org/docs/kpmi/2020 COA Glossary.pdf
• Retreat Based on the Church www.mykairos.org/docs/ki/church.pdf
New One or Two Day Retreat Topics and Themed Talks Available In 2019
All residents who have attended a 3 ½ day Weekend can attend a one or two-day Retreat held twice yearly at institutions as part of the Kairos Inside Continuing Ministry. Retreats are typically held at the mid-point between Kairos Inside Weekends. The primary purpose of the Retreats is to give those not grouping some experience with the process of becoming vulnerable to other people in the small group setting. Additionally, Retreats provide an opportunity for those who have drifted away from the Kairos community to return. The importance of these Retreats cannot be overstated. If you are not doing Retreats, talk with your facility about the possibility of adding them.
Communities are always looking for Retreat ideas, and to keep our Continuing Ministry new and exciting we have just added seven new Retreat topics with themed-talks to mykairos.org, which can be used for your local Retreats. On pages 328-343 of the Kairos Inside Program Manual, you will also find information regarding the Retreat including topics, themed-talks, and a proposed schedule
If you have retreat topics or themed-talks that you have used successfully in your facility, please email Gina Brockmeyer ([email protected]) or Craig Combs ([email protected]). We will be happy to review and consider them for posting.
Events
Do you have a future fundraiser or awareness event coming up? Please be sure to send those to [email protected] and they will be listed on the kairosprisonministry.org events page.
Obituaries
Please forward obituaries of Kairos volunteers to [email protected].
Prayer Requests
Kairos has a new prayer request page. Please use this page to post prayer requests for publication and to pray for others. We ask that all comments be considerate and within the parameters of Kairos vision, mission, and values. Please do not include upcoming Weekends as we already pray for those weekly!
Agape Contacts
A listing of Agape contacts for upcoming Kairos Weekends is available on the mykairos.org website. This information is compiled from the Weekend information that is posted on the Kairos Kalendar and is available in Excel format so that you can easily download it. In order for this to be effective, please post your Weekends well in advance of their actual dates and ensure your Agape contact’s name and their email address are included in the posting. To
access this information, please go to: www.mykairos.org/kalendar.html and click on “Agape Contacts for Upcoming Weekends.”
Is Your Weekend Listed?
Now is the time to do it! If your upcoming Weekend is not listed on the Kairos Kalendar, complete the electronic registration at www.mykairos.org/register.html so we can publicize your Weekend to help you receive Agape and prayer coverage.
This is especially important for #1 Weekends. We create a banner advertisement especially for those #1 Weekends on mykairos.org, and we actively promote #1 Weekends through local media and social media.
Why Do You Volunteer?
We need short 1 minute or less video clips telling us why you volunteer for Kairos! So grab your phone, tell us why, and send them to [email protected]. We need 20 or more of these. All submissions grant Kairos permission to use the video in any form. Thank you for your service!
Kairos Facebook Group
Many items of interest such as upcoming Weekends, prayer requests, and inspirational stories are shared in our Kairos Facebook group. If you aren’t already a member, you can request to be added here: www.facebook.com/groups/KairosPrisonMinistryInternational
Spanish Translation of the E-News
A Spanish translation of E-News (E-Noticias) is also published monthly. If you would like to view previous issues or subscribe to future E-News in Spanish, please go to: www.mykairos.org/news_enews-sp.html
La traducción al español de E-News (E-Noticias) se publica mensualmente. Si quiere ver las E-Noticias anteriores o suscribirse para recibir ejemplares futuros, vaya a www.mykairos.org/news_enews-sp.html
You may also subscribe to E-News at the www.MyKairos.org Home page, using the on-screen form. If you want to stop receiving the Kairos E-News, go to the www.MyKairos.org Home page and use the on-screen form.
For more information about Kairos volunteer activities, remember to visit mykairos.org and
