Hello, Friends – This email is the third of our new once-a-week emails sent on Saturday and written by someone who is facilitating or teaching a class that is listed on the Events page on TruthUnity. Today’s post is from Rev. Dr. Stephanie Bush Mann, JD, PhD, LUT, and Co-Director, Unity Urban Ministerial School Prison Ministry Certification Program and Spiritual Leader, The Spiritual Café of the South Jersey Shore – Unity. If you do not wish to receive these Saturday emails, scroll down to the bottom of this email and click on "Change your subscriptions to our newsletters." That will open a box where you can change Subscribe/Unsubscribe to the Fillmore Events Newsletter and other newsletters we send out. – Mark
Beyond the Walls: Seeing the Divine Light in Everyone: A Transformative Prison Ministry Workshop
Dear Friends,
Over the last year, many people have asked me a simple question: “How did you become involved in prison ministry?”
It’s a fair question. My professional life has included many different paths. I have served as an attorney, professor, criminal justice researcher, city administrator, elected New Jersey State Legislator, Cabinet member, author, LUT, and life coach. Each of those experiences taught me something about justice, leadership, and service.
Yet, as meaningful as those roles were, I eventually sensed that God was calling me beyond systems and policies to something much more personal. Rather than simply studying criminal justice or helping shape public policy, I felt called to walk alongside the very people those systems affect. That call eventually led me into correctional facilities.
I cannot honestly tell you that I knew exactly what to expect when I initially entered prisons as a spiritual leader last year. Although I had been in correctional facilities as an undergraduate student at Cornell; in jails and prisons as an attorney; and in prisons while earning my doctorate in criminal justice and afterward as a senior researcher for the National Council on Crime and Delinquency and as a professor, this was different. My goal had always been to better understand the lives of people who are impacted by the criminal justice system, but all of these paths I have traveled have now led me to my ultimate calling: to share tools, including and particularly spiritual teachings based on Unity Principles, with people who are incarcerated so that they may, if they choose to do so, use them to create their best lives. I now know my purpose and my passion, and that is to be Light, to see Light in all others, and to walk beside those who are imprisoned so that they know their divinity, Oneness, Light, and the Powers they have within.
So, I now go into the depths of male and female prisons simply because I know I am supposed to do so. And like so many of life’s most meaningful journeys, one faithful step leads to another.
There was one moment within the walls of a correctional facility that forever changed how I understand prison ministry. During one of my sessions, a participant respectfully interrupted the flow of the discussion, looked at me, and quietly said,
“We appreciate you being here. You don’t see us as bad people. You see us as people who may have done bad things—but not as bad people.”
For a moment, the room became completely silent and then the other participants began to express their agreement.
These words touched something deep within me because what he said was true: I choose to see and nurture the Light within them all, no matter how it is hidden and even if it is not yet recognized. I do not find this difficult to do within the prison walls, as I have never believed that the worst decision a person has ever made defines who they are. I know that every person carries the Divine Light of God. Sometimes that Light is hidden beneath trauma, fear, addiction, shame, or poor choices, but it is never extinguished.
That day, I realized that the greatest gift I have to offer is not the lesson, the discussion, or even the prayer. The greatest gift is that, perhaps for the first time in a long time, someone feels truly seen.
That experience continues to shape every aspect of my ministry, because on that day I received one of the greatest gifts of my sojourn: I knew I was doing what all of my paths and life experiences were preparing me to do. I was being the presence of God/Divine/Universe/Whatever Name or No Name you choose for the Greatest Creative Energy that always was, will be, and is, and acts in, through, and as each of us.
It has reminded me that prison ministry is not primarily about entering a correctional facility. It is about learning to see beyond labels. It is about recognizing the Divine Light that has always been present. For me, it is a lesson that reaches far beyond prison walls. There is a person or two in my own family, as well as in neighborhoods, workplaces, and communities, who long to be seen, not for their worst moment, but for their deepest Truth.
Seeing beyond labels and seeing the Light in everyone, particularly in the divisive environment of today, I lovingly suggest, is the invitation before us all. It is this journey that inspired me to accept the invitation from UUMS to create a new workshop:
I invite you to join me for Beyond the Walls: Seeing the Divine Light in Everyone, a transformative 90-minute Zoom workshop sponsored by Unity Urban Ministerial School (UUMS) exploring prison ministry through the lens of Unity spirituality, compassionate presence, restorative justice, and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB).
Whether you are a minister, Licensed Unity Teacher, ministerial student, chaplain, volunteer, or spiritual seeker, this workshop will deepen your understanding of prison ministry while offering practical tools for compassionate and effective service.
Together we will explore:
- The biblical and spiritual foundations of prison ministry
- Unity’s understanding of the Divine within every person
- Trauma-informed and compassionate ministry
- Healthy boundaries and ethical service
- The ministry of listening and respectful presence
- The Unity Urban Ministerial School Prison Ministry Certification Program
Continuing Education
Participants are eligible to receive:
✅ 1.5 Hours of Diversity (DEI) Continuing Education Credit through Unity Worldwide Ministries/UC&L
✅ 10 Unity Urban Ministerial School (UUMS) Course Credits (with the applicable registration option and completion of the learning verification)
Workshop Details
Tuesday, July 21, 202612:00–1:30 p.m. Eastern Time
Live on Zoom
Facilitator: Rev. Dr. Stephanie Bush Mann, JD, PhD, LUT, CTA-CC Co-Director, Unity Urban Ministerial School Prison Ministry Certification Program Spiritual Leader, The Spiritual Café of the South Jersey Shore – Unity
Register Today Please register no later than Monday, July 20, 2026, by 5:00 p.m. ET. Register here: https://pci.jotform.com/form/261678367018062
One of the most meaningful moments in my prison ministry occurred when an incarcerated participant said:
“You don’t see us as bad people. You see us as people who may have done bad things—but not as bad people.”
That simple statement captures the heart of this workshop. When we begin to look beyond labels, we begin to recognize the Divine Light that has always been there.
I hope you will join me.
With blessings,
– Rev. Dr. Stephanie
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