Community News
Once a Victim of Crime, She Now Offers Hope to Criminals
> 1 ; \ V H \N\ON
.. i ? StaV \\ ntcr
lr;i Thigpen w;i?. asleep in
f 'th Mi" ot the
? i.icn someone flippetTon a
.lit switch. Thinking it was her
mother. she closed her eyes and
started to doze off again.
W hen she realized it u as not
her mother and that her home had
been burglarized, she called the
police. The\ caught the thief in less
Mian an hour at the bus station with
1 liippen s luggage. They brought
him back to Thigpen s apartment for
Ik-i to identify him.
I went outside and looked at
him in the car. she said. All I could
say to him was, 'How could you do
this to us?'
"I felt like I had been raped and
violated.' she said. "I looked at him
and I was really upset. But when I
went back in. it was like a calm.
The officers were standing there,
and I started smiling. I said, Isn't it
wonderful? I have an opportunity to
minister to this man. I'll see him at
the jail. "
As chaplain of the Forsyth
(*ount\ Prison Chaplaincy, Rev.
Thigpen ministers to hundreds of
inmates a day. Thigpen. an ordained
minister, said she hopes to empha
size the importance of healing to
inmates.
The beginning of healing is
h .mi we let go and let God begin to
' " she said. "That is what I want
n to experience here because
. '?i a victim, too. I was upset
1 ^ man. but the Lord allowed
forgive him."
Ihigpen has been a prison
chaplain in the county for two
years, becoming the first black
female chaplain of an all men's cor
rectional facility in the state. After
working 18 years as a high school
social worker. she >a;J she telt a
\ nid in her lite.
* No matter what 1 accom
plished. it didn't mean \er\ much
h c v u use t h e r e w a v a compelling
to r ce telling me that there was"
something else I had to do.' she
said. 1 didnt know what that force
was. hut now I know. It was the
Lord.
Before deciding to enroll in
Southern Baptist Theological Semi
nar} in her hometown of Louisville.
Ky.. Thigpen was alread) active in
prison ministry. A friend had told
her that a maximum secunt} prison
and taring well in several inter
\iews. Thigpen was offered the
chaplain position And now that she
has found her ministry as a prison
chaplain. Thigpen said the feeling
ot unresFand untulnllmeni ihai she
had experienced is gone.
Now there is peace, she said.
It s a kind of peace that the Lord
says surpasses all understanding ?
the kind of peace that the world did
nt gi\e to you and the world can't
take it away. There is peace in
knowing that you are where you
need to be at this particular junc
ture."
there needed a Christian liiH^bD^1^^ Thigpen said when she first
between the faculty and the commu
nis. She became a volunteer and
later became a volunteer chaplain.
Then she volunteered with Prison
Fellowship Ministries in Louisville
w here she trained new volunteers.
Thigpen said ~ that after
enrolling she still had not consid
ered being an ordained minister.
While in seminary, she tojd the
dean that she knew God was calling
her for prison ministr}. So Thigpen
did her first-year internship with
Volunteers of America in
Louisville, where she became coor
dinator of prison ministr} . She ful
filled her second-} eaT internship as
a volunteer chaplain at the Ken
tucky Correctional Facility for
Women.
As her May 1991 graduation
date drew nearer. Thigpen told the
seminary's placement office that she
was willing to he placed as a prison
chaplain in any region of the coun
try. She received information from
the Forsyth Counts Prison Chap
laincy. but said she didn't pay much
attention to it initially because she
didn't have any family or friends in
North Carolina.
But after sending her resume
walked into the jail, she knew she
was in the right place.
There was such excitement
about being in this place. There was
no fear and no bars were clanging. "
Today you can still see the exu
berance in her eyes and the enthusi
asm in her voice when she talks
about the ministry.
The Forsyth County Prison
Chaplaincy was founded in the late
1970s by two men who were
involved in the Yoke Fellow Min
istry. Yoke Fellow volunteers vis
ited prisons and talked one-on-one
with inmates to develop a Christian
relationship. Thigpen said when
Yoke Fellows visited the prison
xamp on Cherry Street in the 1970s,
there was not a chaplain on the
grounds. The Yoke Fellows formed
a group w ith a board of directors
w ho called the first chaplain.
The Forsyth County Prison
Chaplaincy, under the direction of
Senior Chaplain Rodney Stillwell.
is funded entirely by the Christian
community. Part of the ministry's
efforts include communicating with
area churches and civic groups to
increase sponsorship.
Volunteers who visit inmates in
&
\
&
\ '
The Rev. Sandra Thigpen ministers to hundreds of inmates daily.
the Forsyth County Jail on Thurs
days include ministers and deacons
who help distribute health and
hygiene products to inmates.
But volunteer Linzy Escue said
their mission is more than that.
"We are concerned with the
spiritual well-being of the inmates.''
Escue said. "We try to encourage
them and help them live day to day
and let <hem know that Jesus Christ
gives them a reason to live."
Thigpen said that as chaplain
she is responsible for providing
spiritual guidance at three facilities:
the Forsyth County Correctional
Center, the Forsyth County Jail and
the Forsyth County Youth Deten
tion Center.
The ministry's programs and
activities include bible study. Yoke
Fellow ministry, worship services.
AIDS and GED classes and Alco
holics Anonymous and Narcotics
Anonymous meetings.
She said she wants to empha
size that the ministry is lot just
worship service.
"We would like to encourage
the community to be involved in the
whole ministry, a holistic ministry."
she said. " You can preach, the ser
mons. you can sing the songs, you
can lift up the word of God. but
there are needs they have that need
to be followed up on. like the health
and hygiene distribution."
Thigpen, said she wants
inmates to know that God loves
them ? that there is grace."'
"And. yes. they made a poor
decision." she said. But that's not
the end. It can be a beginning. It is a
ministry of reconciliation, a min
istry of presence."
That presence. Thigpen said.
should be shared with the commu
nity.
"That's what we want to com
municate to the African-American
churches in Winston." she said.
Sixty percent of the women and
men incarcerated are African Amer
ican. We need to become more
involved in the prison ministry. We
need to become involved in. the
after-care, letting these men and
wonicn know while they're incar
cerated tfiat wfc love them. "She also
said she is not ignoring the suffering
of the victims. "My heart goes out
to the victim." she said. "Remem
ber, 1. too, was a victim of an
inmate. So when I think about the
chaplaincy and the men and women
and the ministry, it's not to the indif
ference of those who have been vic
timized. because they. too. are suf
fering and are in pain."
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MARCH 10, 1993
k
Community
EVENTS CALENDAR
How to Schedule Your Events: Send your information, con
cisely and neatly printed or typed, to the Chronicle Calendar,
617 N. Liberty St., Winston-Salem, N.C. 27102, before 5:00 p.m.,
the Monday preceding the week in which your event will occur.
Our FAX number is (919) 723-9173. ?
? March *
THURSDAY, MARCH 18
4:30 p.m. ? The Winston-Salem/Forsyth
County Board ot" Education's meeting originally
scheduled for March 1 1 has been rescheduled.
The meeting will begin with a presentation of the
proposed redisricting plan and will take a 30
minute break at 5:30p.m. The regular board meet
ing will begin at 6 p.m. Redisricting discussions
will resume after the regular agenda.
SATURDAY, MARCH 20
12 p.m. ? The Atkins High School Class of
1^43 Planning Committee will meet at the East
Winston Branch Library. 1 1 10 E. Seventh St.. to
plan its 50th anniversary. All classmates are
asked to attend. For information call Arabelle
Watts Parker, chairman of the committee, a! 722
0705 or Nathaniel Colson at 650-1323.
6 p.m. ? A Spann-Summers family reunion
meeting will be held at the home of Naomia S.
Lone. 2822 Glenn Ave. For more information
call 725-2652.
SUNDAY. MARCH 21
1:30 p.m. ? An African-American Heritage
Extravaganza will be held at the Greensboro Cul
tural Center. 200 N. Davie St. in Greensboro,
until 6 p.m. Activities will include African
American dance and technique, storytelling,
gospel, jazz, blues, big band, art exhibits and
demonstrations, gallery presentations, musical
selections from "Dreamgirls" and "Ain't MisBe
havin," African drumming, a lecture entitled
"The Contributions of African Americans to the
Field of Modern Dance." crafts for children and a
traditional African-American meal. A special
performance will be given by the Dayton Con
temporary Dance Company from Dayton. Ohio.
The program is sponsored by the National Forum
for Black Public Administrators (Triad Chapter)
and Cit\ Arts/Greensboro Parks and Recreation,
{?or intormation call Deborah Scales at 373-2044
or 373-2026. or John Rascoe at 373-2710.
3 p.m. ? The NAACP will hold its general
membership meeting at the Gold State Mutual
Building. 1225 E. Fifth St. The Executive Com
mittee will also meet. The public is invited.
MONDAY, MARCH 22
7 p.m. ? Friends of the East Winston
Library will meet at the branch, 1 1 10 E. Seventh
St. Your assistance is needed in making this orga
nization responsive to the needs of the library in
the East Winston community.
7 p.m. ? The West Forsyth PTA is sponsor
ing a Career Night in the old gym. There is no fee
for admission. Over 40 careers will be repre
sented. The public is invited. For information call
Ben Styers at 766-3456 or 744-4609.
7:30 p.m. ? East Forsyth High School will
hold orientation for rising 9th-grade students in
the auditorium. A reception in the cafeteria will
follow. Please join us and meet the staff, coaches
and sponsors of extra-curricular activities.
TUESDAY, MARCH 23
12 p.m. ? Network Plus International will
sponsor the two-part workshop "Self-esteem
Development for Personal and Professional
Growth" March 23-24 in . *Jie first-floor audito
rium of the Forsyth County Main Library on
Fifth St. The workshop will include the topics:
defining good and poor self-esteem; causes of
good and poor self-esteem; changing your
esteem: and goal setting. The fee for the work
shop is S10 and includes the cost ~f materials.
Bring a bagged lunch. For infc call
Michael Samuels at 767-7716.
4:30 p.m. ? The public is invited to attend
the annual meeting of the Winston-Salem Foun
dation. followed by a reception at 5:15 p.m., at
the Arts Council Theatre on Coliseum Drive.
Reservations should be made by calling the foun
dation office at 725-2382 weekdays between 8:30
a.m. and 5 p.m. ?
7 p.m. ? The East Winston Branch Library
and the Divorced Fathers of Forsyth County will
present an open discussion on today's crisis con
fronting men and women involved in a divorce.
For more information call 727-2202 or come to
the branch, 1 10 E. Seventh St.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 24
12 p.m. ? Bruce Sanspree of the Depart
ment of Social Services Adoptions Unit will
speak on the bonding process between parent and
child in adoption at the Exchange/SCAN Build
ing. 500 Northwest Blvd.. He will share how we,
as professionals and volunteers, can provide sup
port to the child and to the process. Teachers,
social workers, nurses, daycare workers and peo
ple who work with children are encouraged to
attend. Bring a friend. You can bring your lunch
too. For information, call 724-2831.
5:30 p.m. ? The William C. Sims Center
presents "Tax Consulting" in the Happy Hill Gar
dens community. Rose Lindsay, tax consultant,
will assist in preparing your taxes. Bring your
W2 forms, your child care information and any
interest forms from your bank account. The assis
tance is free and confidential. For an appointment
call 727-2837.
THURSDAY, MARCH 25
7 p.m. ? The West Forsyth PTA is sponsor-'
ing a Talent Show in the West auditorium.
Admission is S3 in advance and S4 at the door.
For information call Ben Styers at 766-3456 or
744-4609.
7:30 p.m. ? A Southeast Ward precinct
meeting will be held at St. Andrews Grace
Methodist Church. 1840 Butler St. For informa
tion call Jean Brown at 727-2075.
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