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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
File Size:	150 kb
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Healing Prison Trauma Workshop
Saturday February 7, 2026
1:00pm - 3:00pm
​Hybrid options

Join us Saturday February 7, 2026 from 1pm-3pm CST to learn about the trauma of prison as well as the challenges of healing when in reentry. This circle-based workshop is for those who are healing as well as for loved ones, support folx, and those who minister with and accompany those who are incarcerated or formerly incarcerated. 

register here

Raylan Gilford spent nearly three decades incarcerated, enduring a profoundly harmful lived experience that continues to shape his mission and message today. In spite of those challenges, he has become a multiple-time published author, using his writing to expose the harsh realities of the prison industrial complex and illuminate the emotional, psychological, and spiritual struggles of reentry.

His body of work serves as a powerful testament to resilience, truth-telling, and healing. Each book is crafted with the intention of helping others understand the traumatic impact of incarceration while offering pathways toward restoration and wholeness.

Raylan is joined in this work by his wife, Marketta Gilford, who spent 13 years incarcerated within the Illinois Department of Corrections. She is a staunch advocate for individuals experiencing homelessness and those who are system-impacted. Marketta is also the co-owner of Momo Bites and has since become a published author in her own right. Together, they facilitate healing circles, lead workshops, and create safe, supportive spaces where people impacted by incarceration can feel seen, understood, and empowered.

Their shared mission and vision is to bring awareness to the non-tangible harms caused by incarceration, both inside and long after release. They work to uplift the voices of those who have been incarcerated, illuminate the emotional and structural challenges they face every single day, and offer practical, real-time, and compassionate solutions to these issues. Through their workshops and healing circles, they aim not only to shed light on these harms but also to build COMMUNAL SOLUTIONS; making the healing process more inclusive, more informed, and more transformative for everyone involved.

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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.