Love Your Neighbor Beyond Your Comfort Zone: Neighboring Those Behind Bars

Elm City Vineyard Church Talks

What does it mean to proclaim liberty to the captives? How can we neighbor people that are locked up? When it comes to loving incarcerated people, we have to be intentional to even see folks who are often invisible to us. Yet, in a city like New Haven, many of drive past a correctional center regularly to get to our work, homes, our home groups. Of course, even more people are trying to re-enter society and need support. Thankfully, God has a special place for criminals, those held in detention, jail, or prison. Jesus had experience with that the last day of his life and so have so many other saints, biblical and otherwise. This Sunday as we continue loving our neighbor beyond our comfort zone, we’ll dive into God’s heart for the prisoner.

- Series Description -

Jesus’ greatest commandment is to love God and love neighbor. Paul, a famous church planter, simplifies it even more: love your neighbor as yourself. In a city like New Haven, there are many people to love. Some are lower on our list because some of us have to move in and past discomfort to love people God has placed nearby. Some are simply harder to reach. In this short series, we will look at what it means to neighbor New Haven. This will include an overview of the topic, a specific look at folks in the incarceration system, immigrants, and people others see as “wrong” to love. Multiple Sundays will have tangible ways of serving our neighbors that we can do during our worship service. If you want to grow in loving people in the new year, be a part of this series!