To improve public safety by restoring former offenders to productive roles in society through training, counseling and education programs that remove the barriers to meaningful employment and that teach skills for today's workforce.
Lenten Cross Project
March 1 - April 12
Christians have long been associated with looking after prisoners. And Easter has long been associated with their release (often miraculous). Many classical writers, in fact, chronicle incidences of “chains and shackles of prisoners burst[ing] asunder and ly[ing] broken on the ground,” and “locks springing open, chains falling off and prisons opening themselves” on the anniversary of Christ’s resurrection. Neither was it uncommon for constitutions of that period to provide clemency to prisoners on Easter, “lay[ing] aside the chains and properly abolish[ing] the occasion for prison that is dark with filth.”
The symbolism of these extraordinary events animated the mundane work of early Christians who ministered to prison inmates – praying to God to protect them from despair while collecting alms as ransom for their freedom.
Continuing in this tradition of prayer and almsgiving, Chattanooga Endeavors invites area churches to participate in its Lenten Cross Project as a way to prepare for the great Feast of Easter.
The centerpiece of this project is the Lenten Cross – one of the most beautiful and appropriate symbols of Lent. Made from the trunk of a Christmas tree, the Lenten Cross reminds us of the eternal love for man shared in the birth of Christ. Formed into a cross, it becomes a symbol of His passion and death and the glory of His resurrection.
The project itself is very simple. Participants select a prisoner’s name (written on a plain river stone) from the Lenten Cross of a Host Church. They pray for the prisoner named on the stone and make a modest contribution to Chattanooga Endeavors of a nickel to a dollar a day for the 40 days of Lent.
Each year our Lenten Cross Project brings together thousands of faithful people in prayer to seek relief for men and women behind bars and for their families who suffer in silence with them.
Both individuals and groups can participate in the project. For more information, click on the links below:
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