The Encourager Blog

A very valuable treasure is buried within our federal prison system, amazingly talented people. Recently I attended a retirement “Coffee House” party for a Prison chaplain I have been working with since 2015. In honour of her many years of service the “guys”, (people in federal custody,) presented a concert / poetry reading. As a person who has been doing some form of public presentation for many years, in a variety of contexts and venues, I can honestly say that the “guys” don’t have to take a back seat to anyone.

One person recited some jail house themed poetry with nearly perfect cadence, expression, tone, annunciation, and volume. Thoroughly entertaining. The in-house bands did covers ranging from Elvis, CCR, Paul McCartney and the Tragically Hip. What was particularly impressive was how the guys captured the nuances of the songs and were able to imitate the artists while at the same time brought their own brand of unique expression to each of the songs.

My only regret was that more people would not be able to witness the talent of the guys inside. Cell phones and the like are not permitted in our federal institutions. Otherwise, I would have captured the performance on video and shared it on Facebook. I am blessed to be a witness to such gifted people and wonderful talent.