A Few Samples of Darryl Ward’s Writing
This is a sample of Darryl’s writing:
Encountering Christ On Death Row
LAST UPDATED ON: MAY 25, 2017 AT 7:11 PM BY GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
One of my most memorable experiences of being in church as a child was hearing “The Judgement of the Nations” (Matthew 25:31-46) read aloud, which includes Jesus saying:
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.
No other text from the Bible has ever resonated with me so much. It helped me understand that through loving those who are the most unloved and the most outcast we can demonstrate our love for God. Few in society are more unloved and more outcast than those who are in prison — especially those who are on death row.
The row is not a pleasant place. “We all die a little bit on the row each day,” wrote Richard Michael Rossi, who spent more than 20 years on death row in Arizona before dying of natural causes. Depending on which state they are incarcerated in, death row inmates could be locked up for 23 hours a day in tiny cells with no natural light and fed only inadequate servings of inedible food which is shoved through slots, all while waiting in anguish to be killed.
No matter what they may have done, nobody deserves this. For some inmates, it becomes too much, and they willingly give up all their appeals to hasten their executions. These prisoners, who have abandoned hope, are euphemistically called “volunteers.”
A few years ago I read something that changed my life: a request for pen friends for death row inmates in the USA. I remembered hearing “The Judgement of the Nations” read aloud in church years ago, and I felt myself drawn to this ministry — but I knew it could not be approached lightly.
First, not counting those who are genuinely innocent (and they do exist, as is evidenced by those who are exonerated on DNA evidence), you do not end up on death row for stealing a bicycle. So, could I befriend someone who I knew had committed a terrible crime?
Second, I struggled with what to say if anyone ever asked me if I had any idea how the friends and families of victims felt, as if I was somehow “taking sides” with murderers over their victims. I found it difficult to think of a meaningful response until several years ago, when a close friend was the victim of a homicide, and I found myself able to pray for his killer.
Finally, I had to be certain I could keep such a commitment. You should never start writing to someone on the row unless you are prepared to keep it up. Becoming involved with a death row inmate means committing to accompanying someone on a difficult journey whose final destination is probably an appointment with an executioner. It is going to be emotionally and spiritually demanding.
After much prayer and contemplation, I eventually contacted a friend in
Voices for Death Row Inmates and offered myself as a pen friend. The next day I was given contact details for “Mark” (named changed to protect his identity), a man on the row in Ohio. It was Maundy Thursday, the eve of Jesus’ execution.
Over the last three years, Mark and I have shared our stories and become good friends. I tell him what I have been up to and he tells me about life in prison. One of the less negative aspects of Mark’s situation is that he is in Ohio, where conditions on the row are much better than in some other states. The inmates are allowed out of their cells to mingle and participate in activities, and they are allowed contact visits. But life there is still hard. Before the current moratorium came into effect, every few months there would be another execution and everyone was reminded why they were there.
I know how Mark ended up on the row. But I have also come to know an incredibly caring person. When I mention something that is bothering me (forgetting how trivial it must be compared with the issues he is facing), he prays for me. He sends me things he has made and poems he has written. A couple of years ago, I had a health scare (that thankfully turned out to be of no consequence), and Mark bought a card for me out of what little money he had. And on the day before my birthday one year, he phoned me and sang “Happy Birthday.” The fact that he had mixed up the time zones and called around 4:00 am didn’t bother me in the least because it was such a wonderful surprise to hear from him.
Mark demonstrates an incredibly positive attitude that you would not expect to find in someone in his position. His tremendous faith encourages me. And his knowledge of the Bible sometimes puts me to shame.
Life on the row changes people, and I would suggest that there are few, if any, on the row who ever experience a day without regretting what they have done and wishing they could undo it. But unless Mark’s appeals are successful, there is only one place his journey is likely to end up.
Like the men and women currently on death row, Jesus was also a condemned prisoner, and, by being there for Mark, I am also there for Jesus. Accompanying Mark on his journey is the closest thing I will ever do to accompanying Jesus to the cross, which makes it one of the greatest privileges I have ever been given.
I believe there are some places where we are more likely to encounter Christ than others: soup kitchens, homeless shelters, AA meetings. I have encountered Him on death row, and it has changed my life forever.
About Darryl Ward
Darryl Ward is the founder and director of Dismas International (FB Page), and is the New Zealand coordinator of Voices for Death Row Inmates.
His website is theword.tk.
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My notes:
This page was found at:
This page is just here for completeness and as a back up. There is perhaps some double meaning in this page, but I do not intend to explain why.
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Here is an example of one of his sermons:
From sermoncentral.com
The Real Face Of The Persecuted
Contributed by Darryl Ward on Nov 28, 2017
5,433 views
Scripture: 1 Peter 3:13-22
Denomination: Anglican
Summary: What does it really mean to be persecuted for following Jesus today?
Two and a half years ago, Florida charity worker Arnold Abbott made world headlines when he was arrested. His crime? Feeding the homeless.
Arnold, who was ninety at the time, had been helping prepare hundreds of meals every week since 1990. In 1991, he founded the Maureen A. Abbott Love Thy Neighbor Fund, whose name was a tribute to his late wife, and which sought to continue the work they had done together. Love Thy Neighbor is based on two core principles: “We are our brother’s keeper”, and “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” And it is open to people of all religions, beliefs, and races, who wish to help those who are worse off than themselves.
Love Thy Neighbor has carried on with its good work of helping the homeless without drawing any international attention, until the City of Fort Lauderdale passed an ordinance severely restricting their activities. Feeding the homeless had to take place least 500 feet away from residential properties, and food sites were restricted to one per city block. These restrictions were motivated by residents and businesses, who were concerned about homeless people being attracted to their neighbourhoods (and presumably thereby lowering the tone of them).
But Love Thy Neighbor was not going let this stop them. And on Tuesday 4 November 2014, Arnold, along with two ministers from the Sanctuary Church, were arrested while they were distributing food to the homeless. But, in spite of this, Arnold was back feeding the homeless the very next day. Even though he risked a US$500 fine for each arrest. Not to mention four months in gaol. And again, he was arrested.
Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler was not impressed by Arnold’s efforts, but Arnold pointed out, if they weren’t feeding the homeless, many of them would have no alternative other than to forage through rubbish bins, or starve.
“What the city is doing by cutting out feeding is very simple -- they are forcing homeless people to go dumpster-diving all over again,” Arnold said. “They will steal. That's what the mayor is forcing the homeless to do.”
Today’s epistle reading is from the First Letter of St Peter. The authorship is traditionally attributed to St Peter, the Apostle, and this certainly seems to have been the view of the early Church. However, many of today’s scholars say that St Peter could not have possibly written this document, as it would have required much higher a level of education and a knowledge of Greek than a humble fisherman from Galilee would have possessed. And a compromise position is that St Peter essentially dictated the letter to a secretary who was more versed in Greek than he was. There are differing views on the letter’s authorship, but at the end of the day, we really don’t know, and like so many of the books of scripture, its authorship is uncertain.
The First Letter of St Peter contains some very interesting material. Some of it, notably the author’s views on gender roles, especially the suggestion that women are “the weaker sex”, would generally be considered today to be irredeemably outdated, which reinforces my personal view that we must always take into account the cultural and historical context of when scripture was written, instead of simply taking it at face value through today’s eyes. 5 It also contains that absolutely fascinating fragment of text about Jesus making a proclamation to imprisoned spirits after his death, which was part of our reading this morning.
But the most consistent theme of the First Letter of St Peter is a message of encouragement for early Christians who were facing persecution, and scholars are divided over whether the author was referring to social rejection, or the more serious official persecution that was undertaken by the Roman authorities at certain times. And it may well refer to both. But in either case, those who are facing persecution are encouraged. They are told that they are blessed if they suffer for doing good, and that it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God’s will, than to suffer for doing evil.
A complaint I have sometimes heard from Christians in North America is that they are being persecuted for their faith (although admittedly I haven’t heard quite heard so much since Donald Trump took office). Some are employers, who are unhappy that health provisions included in remuneration for their workers cover things they disapprove of, such as the provision of contraception. But an employer being prevented from forcing their personal morality onto their staff does not count as religious persecution.
And there are others who claim they are persecuted who object to anti-discrimination laws that we are told could – for example – force a baker to bake a cake for a same sex wedding. Now you may rest assured I am not about to segue into the minefield that is the theology of human sexuality: this is just an example to make a point. And I would argue that this does not constitute religious persecution. Baking a cake is just that; it is baking a cake. It is not actually partaking in a wedding. And I am yet to hear any complaints from Christian bakers about baking cakes for divorced people who are remarrying, which I am sure must happen a lot more frequently than same sex weddings.
I would suggest they ask themselves that most clichéd of questions, ‘What would Jesus do?’ And I would say Jesus would not only bake the bake, he would bake two of them, given that he had said that if anybody forces you to go one mile, you should also go the extra mile.
Neither of these scenarios constitute genuine religious persecution in my view, and to suggest they do is downright disrespectful to those who in some parts or the world are deprived of liberty, subjected to violence, and even killed for following their faith.
But, having said that, there are still genuine examples of Americans being persecuted for following the teachings of Jesus. And one of them is Arnold Abbott. Jesus never said anything about restricting people’s access to health care, or refusing to bake cakes for people whose lifestyles we disapprove of. But he had a lot to say about caring for the vulnerable. And he also fed people.
Yes, this sermon comes with slides
Arnold wasn’t arrested over issues Jesus never mentioned or even alluded to. He was arrested for doing precisely what Jesus asked us to do. In my book, that counts as religious persecution.
The real faces of the persecuted Christians in North America are not the employers who object to their staff having access to contraception. And neither are they the bakers who want to be selective about their clientele. The real faces of the persecuted American Christians are people like Arnold Abbott.
So, what happened to Arnold in the end? After three trials in the Circuit Court, followed by two trials in the Palm Beach Appeals Court, Love Thy Neighbor won, and Fort Lauderdale’s laws against feeding the homeless were declared unconstitutional.
Love Thy Neighbor won. Jesus won. And love won. But persecution lost.
Darryl Ward
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There are 21 more sermons by Darryl available on the website sermoncentral.com
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From archived comments on the website stuff.co.nz, the most popular news website in New Zealand.
DARRYL WARD
Raumati Beach
It's fathers who will suffer
Principal Family Court Judge Peter Boshier's reported claims that the Family Court will jail parents who disobey domestic protection or parenting orders must be regarded as more persecution of fathers, because I can guarantee that it will be only male parents who are subjected to these penalties.
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DARRYL WARD
Raumati Beach
Perhaps in future, each time before Parliament sits, members could view the television advertisment relating to anti-violence.
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He has a masters degree in theology. A degree in communications and PR that took him 20 years to finish. He was a lay minister at the Anglican Church. And I think that he is/was very, very left wing. He was also a punk. That is he loved punk rock.
According to Amanda, he was a hardcore men’s rights advocate and father’s rights advocate back in the day. And he hated and loathed the family courts.
His wife Natasha is Russian, and often wore a t-shirt with a hammer and sickle on it. I’m not sure if that is meaningful.
I am still writing the main story!! And so this is just a small part of it!!
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