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Abolition as Faith Formation 

We are joining with our friends at the Church of the Larger Fellowship as partners in supporting the Congregational Study Action Issue, Abolition is Faith Formation.  To learn more, go here.

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Staff members Rev Allison Farnum and Keith Talley at One Year Celebration at Leighton Criminal Courthouse next to where UUPMI does jail ministry

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We continue to celebrate pretrial fairness and they ways it has kept wealth in communities that need it the most  (over $140 million!) . Additionally, we are committed to partnering with others who want to see a decrease in incarceration.  At the One Year Anniversary gathering, we heard from amazing leaders like Yvette who shared her testimony about the impact of money bond in her life. She reminded us that when you incarcerate a woman, you incarcerate her family. We are so grateful for her testimony and her work in helping protect pretrial fairness.  Read for more from the IL Network for Pretrial Fairness at this blog post.

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Learning together

Be sure to check out the Minns Lecture Series from Spring 2024 by the Rev Jason Lydon, including topics like: The UUSC National Moratorium on Prison Construction: A Stepping Stone Toward Abolition, The Prisoners' Friend: Universalism and Punishment, and more!

If you are curious about prison abolition, check out this wonderful resource from Abolition Journal. With six sessions, you can go at your own pace. 

Self-led Learning page lists historic offerings and more to help deepen your knowledge.

8-12-20_abolitionist_theologies_virtual_roundtable_transcript.pdf
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Again and again our inside members tell us, "No new prisons." What does that mean? How does that speak to our UU Values?  
UUPMI and No New Prisons Illinois (NNP IL)  is hosting an Teach In on October 23rd 7pm-8pm cst on Zoom to explore these questions and more!
To participate, please register here and learn more about the campaign at bit.ly/NNPILoverview.

NNP IL is dedicated to preventing the construction of new prisons in Illinois. Instead of investing $900 million in rebuilding Stateville and Logan prisons, the campaign advocates for closing these facilities, which have a history of hazardous conditions, including toxic mold, unsafe water, and structural issues. The campaign promotes investing in community-based care and support.
Supported by the Coalition for Collective Liberation and the Coalition to Decarcerate Illinois, NNP IL believes that public safety is achieved through investment in people, not in prisons.

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End Death by Incarceration in IL!

Patrice Lumumba Daniels, Advisory Committee member of UUPMI

According to UUPMI Advisory Committee member, Patrice Lumumba Daniels, "Death By Incarceration (DBI) is "a prison sentence formally handed down by a judge of so called Life Without Parole.

• A prison sentence-relative to one's age/health-that exceeds what is doable & will not diminish one's capacity to be productive upon reentering society.
• A prison sentence that exceeds 20 subsequent calendar years.
• A prison sentence that has no allowance for earned early release."

​Additionally, bringing attention to death by incarceration reminds those in the free world to continue to counter these torturous policies and long-term sentences. Even though Illinois abolished the death penalty, the state is still executing Illinois prisoners through Death by Incarceration.  Part of this program is inviting our outside pen pals to visit their inside pen pals, share the words of their inside pen pals with legislators, speaking truth to power!

We are working collaboratively with the UU Pen Pals of Illinois program in gathering information and listening to our friends and CLF members inside Illinois prisons about their top priority issues so that we can leverage our power to address these harms collaboratively with other organizations.  The main concern of our inside pen pals is around substandard health care. If your organization or your congregation wants to be more involved, please fill out our contact form! We are working closely with our partners at the Unitarian Universalist Advocacy Network of IL as thought partners in this work!

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Our Mission

We equip UU's in Illinois to ​transform institutions;  partnering with and supporting people harmed by the prison industrial complex.  Read More

We need your help! We can sustain this ministry only if we have the support of people who care about our shared humanity with people in prison. Your contribution will help fund staff salaries, benefits, and travel costs, plus the costs of our education offerings to congregations.

The In Prison Ministry works to create a spiritual space where all people can come as they are and be affirmed in their inherent worth and dignity, no matter their identities or past harm they may have caused. 

The outside work of the UU Prison Ministry focuses on preparing our congregations to become radically welcoming places for formerly incarcerated and convicted people. We embrace the call of Unitarian Universalism to make our congregations accepting of all people.

​The Prison Ministry will also connect Unitarian Universalists to local and state-level policy  initiatives that seek to build a world community of peace, liberty and justice for all.

Donate Now

UU Prison Ministry of Illinois is a 501(c)3 organization, so your contributions are tax-deductible.

​We are funded  by a large network of Unitarian Universalists,  as well as from grants from the Fund for Unitarian Universalist Social Responsibility and Crossroads Fund - and grateful for all their support.

​This organization is in part funded by the Fund for Unitarian Universalist Social Responsibility and the Crossroads Fund.