About Us - Worthy Now Prison Ministry Network

The Worthy Now Prison Ministry Network is a liberal religious coalition powered by the Church of the Larger Fellowship (CLF). It includes individuals, groups, and communities of faith called to prison ministry/justice.

Our dream is for all people who are imprisoned to know they are inherently Worthy Now of love and justice. And for them to have access to religious freedom.

This means all are worthy of love, respect and support right now—not at some future time when we are better people, but as we are. The Worthy Now Network is committed to strengthening our Unitarian Universalist (UU) First Principle with this declaration.

Our Call

The Worthy Now Network developed from two differing needs. The ~3,000 members of the CLF includes more than 1000 people (and growing) who are living in prisons across the United States. Some were already UUs, but the majority learned about Unitarian Universalism’s saving message by being connected to the CLF by others who are incarcerated. Worthy Now helps extend CLF’s reach to meet the demand for our faith among this population.

We are also called to be a community resource for UUs and others in liberal faith traditions so that we can extend our reach far beyond those we already serve. Some of you are building your own prison ministries and some have been hard at work for years. Worthy Now seeks to create common space for all of us to connect online, share ideas and resources, and provide/receive training. This prison ministry network will help those in the free-world better serve our incarcerated siblings in faith.

By uniting into one strong community of religious liberals, we can grow stronger in our work to end mass incarceration.

Our Priorities

The Worthy Now Network shares its goals with the whole of the CLF: to Connect, Deepen, and Act on our Unitarian Universalist values. We do this through the following programs and offerings:

Prison Ministry Partnerships - a program for congregations interested in direct service for people who are incarcerated
Circles of Support - communities of people dedicated to working within the justice system, going deeper in understanding mass incarceration and the prison industry, building relationships with others involved in prison ministry, contributing to and providing administrative support for the Worth Now Network
Letter Writing Ministry - a one-on-one letter writing connection with a UU living in prison whose pen pal may be their only contact with the outside world
Classes - online educational offerings covering such topics as the prison industrial complex, anti-racism/anti-oppression, compassionate communication, etc.

First Principle

Unitarian Universalists affirm and promote seven principles. At the top of the list is an affirmation of the inherent worth and dignity of every person. It doesn’t matter whether you are in the free world or imprisoned. All are worthy of love and justice — not someday, but right now. This is the saving message of our First Principle. And it is the foundation for the Worthy Now Network.