Last October, the Latvian Lutheran Women Theologians’ Association organised a conference in Riga entitled “Woman in Church and Society”. Among the conference guests were women theologians and pastors from Germany, as well as the theologian and professor of church history Kathryn Louise Johnson from the USA, who is at the same time also the director of ecumenical and inter-religious relations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA – Evangelical Lutheran Church in America).
As part of the conference, the foreign guests visited the places where Latvian women theologians work and serve. Kathryn Johnson visited Iļģuciems women’s prison to learn about the work that, for more than 20 years, has been carried out by the evangelist and prison chaplain of the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church Rudīte Losāne, the long-time president of the Latvian Lutheran Women Theologians’ Association.
In her ministry at Iļģuciems prison, Rudīte Losāne has developed the alternative resocialisation programme Miriam, which helps women serving sentences in the place of detention not only to spend their time usefully, but also to develop social and artistic skills and to prepare for life in society. The Miriam programme has been running for nineteen years now.
Rudīte’s innovations in prison ministry did not go unnoticed, for as early as 2010, on Lāčplēsis Day, Rudīte Losāne was awarded the Order of the Three Stars for services to the homeland – for her selfless and self-sacrificing contribution to organising and improving the resocialisation process of prisoners in Latvia.
In 2015, on the initiative of the Saeima Education, Culture and Science Committee, Rudīte Losāne was awarded the Honorary Diploma of the Ministry of Justice for her long-standing, exemplary, self-sacrificing, creative and conscientious performance of her work duties and her diligence in promoting the resocialisation of imprisoned persons.
Although the conference “Woman in Church and Society” has come to an end, the support has remained and the friendship has grown. This summer, chaplain Losāne received a letter from the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Elizabeth Eaton. In the letter, the presiding bishop expresses her appreciation to Rudīte Losāne for her creative and faithful work with women in prison, affirming that Rudīte Losāne and her ministry in prison, as well as all those who in Latvia see Christ in people who are in need, are remembered in prayers. In her letter, presiding bishop Eaton mentions the book “Hear My Voice: A Prison Handbook” (Hear My Voice: A Prison Handbook. – Eng.), published by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, which is being given to Rudīte Losāne in gratitude for her ministry, which brings God’s healing love within the prison walls.
A copy of the said letter has also been sent to the LELB archbishop Jānis Vanags, as well as to the bishop of the Michigan synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Craig Alan Satterlee.
About the book
In preparing the handbook, its authors wanted to bring into places of detention the grace and beauty that are often lacking in these places.
This book is about prayer, but also about hearing God in prison, because God is present and active there too. The book is intended for those who are in prison, or for family members and friends of imprisoned persons, who can pray together with their loved ones. The book can also be used by congregations that pray together with persons serving sentences in places of detention.
The collective of authors includes people who have either been in prison themselves or carry out ministry in prison. The pages of the book are coloured with high-quality artistic images that keep in mind the beauty brought by God’s presence even in such a sorrowful place as a prison.
Photo: “Hear My Voice: A Prison Handbook”, LLSTA.
LLSTA editorial team