Volume 12 Issue 02

JANUARY 2012

JPM Newswire
I was in prison and you visited me Matt. 25:36b

Jeremiah Prison Ministry

We are serving him by serving them! His mercy endures forever Psalm 106:1

Our New Home!

Its reality! We are moved in our new home and we have just a few more boxes to unpack and put up wall decorations. We packed our boxes for the move and we had Lets Move It, Inc. load and unload the truck for us. Loading the truck was a breeze for them but at the new place it took them a little longer because they had to carry everything up our porch steps and wouldnt you know it, it snowed for part of the time. We had obstacles to overcome in the move from the beginning of this process (but I wont go there). Personally for me this was the hardest move I have ever made in my entire life. I was physically & mentally challenged, so please continue to pray for me, it must be an age thing. My next move is to Glory! (lol)
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Inside this issue:

Our New Home!

Its a New Year with New Hope! 1 10 Stats You Should Know 2&4

Pastor Toms Preaching Corner 3 Theres Power in Prayer 4

I love my new home and it feels like home! Oh I have gone to the wrong cupboard to get something, our brain has to reprogram where we have put things since we have downsized. I might have to draw a map, just kidding! We lost a closet & half and our utility room is smaller but gained a morning room, sunroom and carport. We are blessed! I finished up our ministry bookkeeping for 2011 and sent out donation receipts. If for some reason you didnt get one please let us know as soon as possible. We are getting back into a routine and have made several prison visits. We thank you for making it possible for us to go into the prison and minister one on one.

Its a New Year with New Hope!

Our New Home

A new year is getting a fresh start with great expectations! I have a greatgrandson on the way & that is a great expectation with much excitement and hope. What are your expectations for this new year? Only you can aswer that one. Does it mean all your expectations will happen? Not necessarily! Do you put your hope in people? I sure hope not! To whom God would make known what is the
riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory Colossians 1:27

Special points of interest:

Our Mission & Our Vision. You are an extended hand. 12 years in prison ministry! Editor: Rev. Monica Cohee

Our Mission & Our Vision

OUR MISSION..........To help men in prison reach their fullest in the Lord. WHAT WE DO..... Ministering to their spirit, soul and body, through one on one mentoring as their spiritual advisor and friend. HOW WE BEGAN......... Jeremiah Prison Ministry began on November 30, 1999, and was birth out of a bond for a young man that made a wrong choice in life OUR VISION. To be able to go into the prison chapels without the inmates having to take us off their visiting list. With God all things are possible!

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JPM Newswire

10 Stats You Should Know About the Prison System in our Nation
America certainly has a unique stance on crime and punishment. Some actions that would cause the typical American to go to prison for a significant period of time arent even considered crimes in most other countries around the world. As a result, weve accumulated some interesting, sometimes alarming statistics showing just how crowded weve made our prison system. The ones below describe the state of the system, especially compared to the rest of the world, and the social impact of our policies. 1 The U.S. has an incarceration rate of 743 per 100,000 people (2009): Thats the highest rate in the world, an astonishing fact that cant be repeated enough. However, it should be noted that crime in the U.S. in general has decreased over the last 20 years. For example, from 1980 to 2009, the murder rate decreased from 10.2 per 10,000 inhabitants to 5.0 in 2009; the violent crime rate decreased from 596.6 per 10,000 inhabitants to 429.4; and the robbery rate decreased from 251.1 per 10,000 inhabitants to 133. Now, whether or not the improvements are a result of harsher punishment has yet to be proven. For comparison, from 1925 to 1975, the crime rate stayed at about 110 per 100,000 people, excluding those kept in state and local jails. 2 The U.S. houses a quarter of the worlds prisoners (2008): The U.S. population is 311,341,000, roughly 4.5 percent of the worlds population, and in 2008, it kept 2.3 million people behind bars. China, the worlds most populous country with 1,339,725,000 people, kept 1.6 million people behind bars the same year, though it should be noted that it had hundreds of thousands of people in administrative detention. During Americas younger years, it was regarded around the world as more relaxed on criminal justice, hence the Wild West reputation. But as the population has grown, particularly in cities, weve taken more drastic measures to control crime. 3 The U.S. houses more inmates than the top 35 European countries combined (2010): Europe, which has a denser population than the U.S., is well-below the U.S. when it comes to incarceration rates. In England and Wales, for example, 139 people are imprisoned per 10,000, one of the highest rates in Western Europe. Harsher sentencing in recent years is blamed for the rise in prison population in the U.K. Nevertheless, it pales in comparison to Americas rate; only Easter Europes Belarus comes close, with a rate of 385 people imprisoned per 10,000. 4 The federal prison population has more than doubled since 1995 (2010): Because the federal system is generally stricter than state systems and has expanded its jurisdiction over certain offenses, it has seen a drastic increase in the amount of people it houses. In particular, an increase in immigration cases since 1994 has been a main contributor, as they accounted for 28.2 percent of all federal sentencing in 2008, for example. 5 The number of state prisoners declined by 4,777 from December 2008 to January 2010: Possibly due to the recession, many have attributed the decline in state prisoners to large state budget deficits, which have forced states to release inmates to save money. However, according to the Pew Center on the States, the decline actually started just before the economic downturn due to a reduction in the amount of people sent to prison for new crimes, while the number of people released from prison increased. Of course, prison rates vary from state to state. 6 The most significant decreases in state prison populations from 2008 to 2009 occurred in California (-4,257), Michigan (-3,260) and New York (-1,699): Overall, 26 states saw a decrease in prison population. California led them all, as the state has made an effort to cut the number of low-risk parolees returning to prison by expanding the use of intermediate sanctions. Overcrowding has been a problem for California; so much so that a deferral court in 2009 ordered the state to reduce its prison population by 40,000 in just two years. Michigan has cut its prison population by decreasing parole revocation rates, improving its reentry planning and supervision, and reducing the number of inmates who serve more than 100 percent of their minimum sentence. 7 The most significant increases in state prison populations from 2008 to 2009 occurred in Pennsylvania (+2,122), Florida (+1,527) and Indiana (+1,496): During the last three decades, Pennsylvanias prison population has expanded from 8,243 to 51,326. In recent years, the increase can be Going past the prison walls to take attributed to former Gov. Ed Rendells 2008 moratorium on paroles in response to the killing of a Philadelphia police officer by a paroled felon. The state also transferred prisoners out of state due to overcrowding. In the Love of Jesus. Floridas case, some attribute the rise to legislators failing to cut corrections spending like in many of the states that saw reductions in their prison populations. 8 Those who have spent time in prison earn 40 percent less annually (2010): Universally, crime is associated with people from poor economic backgrounds who have few options in life. In many cases, those whove been incarcerated grew up around family members and friends who suffered the same fate. Their ability to escape the rut decreases greatly after their first offense, as their annual earnings are almost slashed in half because many employers refuse to hire them. Most unsettling is the fact that more than half of those incarcerated were the primary financial providers for their children. Continued on page 4.

Volume 12 Issue 02

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Pastor Toms Preaching Corner

DONT LET FEAR STEAL YOUR DREAMS 2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. The Bible says that in the last days, mens heart would fail them because of fear. The root cause of discouragement is fear. The spirit of fear takes away your courage. The spirit of fear believes nothing will work out. Fear is a powerful spiritual force. Fear will cause people to walk in failure all of their lives. Fear will stop the blessings of God. Fear opens the door to the enemy. The thing you must remember is that fear is the enemy of faith. God commanded that His people walk by faith and not by sight. Fear will come in and steal your dreams. Remember this, without faith it is impossible to please God. But with fear it is possible to please the enemy. When you see discouragement coming into your life, you must recognize its fear trying to come in. When fear comes against your mind, it causes you to be unstable in all your ways. Fear causes you to make wrong decisions. Fear causes you to be discouraged. Fear will cause you to quit too soon. Anytime fear rules someones life, it will steal their dreams. Remember that FEAR is False Evidence Appearing Real. Theres a difference between evidence and truth. The evidence may say that you cant pay your bills, but the truth says, My God shall meet all my needs. Anytime the Lord speaks to you, the enemy will challenge that word with fear. Job said, The thing I feared the most has come upon me. He confessed his fears until the enemy came in and stole everything he had. If you open the door to fear in your life, you wont see your dreams come to pass. You know the story of the parable of talents. The one, who was afraid of losing his money, lost everything he had. Fear is trying to stop your dreams from coming to pass. When discouragement comes against your mind say God is my refuge and my strength, He is an ever present help in time of trouble, therefore I will not fear. No weapon formed against me shall prosper. The Word from the Lord, Fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name, and you are Mine. When you pass through the waters I will be with you. When you walk through the fire you will not be burned. Isaiah 43:1-2 Those are comforting words to hear from the Lord. So, do you have a dream? Are you still waiting for it to come to pass? Dont give up, God has a plan for your life! Its in his timing not yours! Dont let fear steal your dream! They that wait upon the Lord shall (not might) shall have their strength renewed!

"We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us." 1 Thessalonians 2:8

2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Jeremiah Prison Ministry

I was in prison and you visited me Matt. 25:36b

Revs. Thomas & Monica Cohee 223 Cameo Drive Fayetteville, PA 17222 Phone: 717-352-0080 Fax: 717-352-0392 Email: info@jeremiahprisonministry.com WERE ON THE WEB WWW. JEREMIAHPRISONMINISTRY. COM 12 YEARS OF PRISON MINISTRY AN OUTREACH OF MARTINSBURG CHRISTIAN CENTER

To Our Family & Friends We Love You

Stats Continued from page 2

9. One in every 28 children has an incarcerated parent (2010): A quarter of a century ago, one in every 125 children had an incarcerated parent. The rise, of course, can be attributed to the implementation of harsher laws for lesser crimes; two-thirds of todays incarcerated parents committed non-violent offenses. The above stat is one of the most disconcerting of all U.S.-related prison stats because common sense dictates that a childs chances of growing up as a productive, law-abiding adult are greater when both of their parents play significant roles in their life. 10. More than one in three young black men without a high school diploma are in prison (2010): Additionally, more black men without a high school diploma are incarcerated than employed. As previously mentioned, its more difficult to secure a job once a person has spent time in prison, further limiting the options of the already less fortunate. In fact, black men earn 44 percent less after theyve been incarcerated, four percent less than the average for all races/ethnicities.
Souce of information from: WebCite, The New York Times, The Pew Center on the States and Pews Economic Policy Group

You are an Extended Hand and a vital part of this ministry. Together we are making a difference with Jesus Christ, taking life to a dark place! We go because you send us. Thank You so much!

We do prison ministry because we have a Hope and his name is Jesus Christ!

Prayer Corner There Is Power In Prayer

Pray for Kevin, Chris, Mike, Domingo, Michael, & Doug that God blesses them financially above and beyond their expectations. They faithfully stay in touch with us.

Pray for Randall V. in prison falsely accused of a crime.

Pray for Larry, Lewis, Corey, Bob, Greg, & Eric for favor to receive commutation. Believe with us for them for a miracle with Gods favor. Pray for Jeremiah as we continue to believe for a miracle for his release. Pray for continued healing for Larry, Bob, Corey & Harvey. Leah remains cancer free ! God is so faithful hearing our prayers! Pray for our grandson, Andy at Delaware State University. Pray for my daughter, Vickie & Dale. God knows the need! Pray for Terri, Tayler & Cara doing much better with grief but still miss Alan. Pray for my new great-grandson Ethan James Miller, soon to be born. Pray for my brother Norman. Pray for Toms brother, John, he is recovering well. Pray for the Salvation for every man, woman, boy and girl not saved in this world. Our prayers are heard! Please pray for all the inmates, their families, our nation, our leaders, our military and their families. Pray for reform in the prison system, for lives to be changed & a spiritual renewal across this land with men, women, boys & girls being touched. Pray for Bill our dear friend who goes with us to some of the prisons and his wife Rose for restored health. Pray for Dotty another dear friend in prison ministry for restored health. Pray for us for strength and wisdom in all that we do, for Tom & Monica to stay cancer free & healthy to do Gods work.

Hebrews 13:5b Jesus will never leave you nor forsake you.