The overall imprisonment rate during 2013 was 195 prisoners per 100,000 population…

3. The overall imprisonment rate during 2013 was 195 prisoners per 100,000 population… • Maori imprisonment rates remained around 3.3 times that of the total population and 5.7 times that of non-Maori… • The Maori imprisonment rate during 2013 was 645 prisoners per 100,000 population…

4. ‘While prisons are a necessary requirement, they are not the source or site of many prisoners’ redemption, and greater attention needs to be given to out-of-prison programmes if we are to meaningfully reduce reoffending and further victimisation.’ Alan Johnson, 2014, Striking a Better Balance, State of Nation Report, SPPU, pg. 41.

5. Churches as Restorative Communities Chris Marshall Chair in Restorative Justice Victoria University of Wellington

6. Introduction • “Sponsored Chairs” • Mounting government interest in RJ • Migration of RJ principles beyond criminal justice system • Proposal = churches as “restorative communities”

7. A Biblical Mandate: Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news” (1:14-15)

8. “God’s great clean-up operation” • Already underway, in Jesus himself • Easily missed by hard-hearted • Invitations to discovery • “Repent and believe in the good news”

9. And passing along by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you fish for people’ And immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in the boat mending their nets. And immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and followed him (Mk 1:14-20)

10. Socialized in the ways of the kingdom… • Attitudes to wealth & possessions • Attitudes to status, privilege & prejudice • Attitudes to power, violence & enemies • Attitudes to religious performance

11. “The church is not there for its own sake. It is there for the sake of “Jesus’ concern”. All the church’s interests – its continuation in its existing form, the extension of its influence – must be subordinated to the interests of the kingdom of God. If the spirit and the institutions of the church are in line with God’s kingdom, then the church is Christ’s church. If they run counter to God’s kingdom, the church loses its right to exist and becomes a superfluous religious society. Today, for the church to take the kingdom of God its lodestone means evangelization and liberation.

12. The church’s divine mission is to proclaim the gospel of God’s kingdom to all human beings, the poor of this world first of all, so as to awaken faith which consoles and strengthens us here and gives the certainty of eternal life. At the same time the church’s divine mission is to bring liberty to the oppressed, human dignity to the humiliated, and the justice which is their due to people without rights. Evangelization and liberation complement one another...

13. These two things belong indissolubly together: Christ’s missionary charge and the revolutionary imperative; the preaching of repentance and the transformation of unjust political and economic conditions into a better justice; peace with God and the struggle for a peaceful world…The church is an evangelizing and liberating community. If it is not, it is not Christ’s church - nor indeed a church at all

14. The task of church… • First beneficiaries of redemption…therefore a sign of hope • Guardians and proclaimers of story of salvation • Colony of God’s future in midst of present age • Instrument of God’s restorative justice in world = “restorative communities”

15. What is Restorative Justice? “…a process whereby all the parties with a stake in a particular offence come together, in a safe and controlled environment, to share their feelings and opinions truthfully and resolve together how best to deal with the aftermath and its implications for the future”

16. “coming together” may take form of… • Victim-Offender Dialogue • Family or Group Conferences • Circle Processes • Community Justice Panels • Victim Surrogate Programmes • Hybrids of above

17. 1. A relational conception of justice • We are formed, informed, sometimes deformed, always reformed through relationships • Three core convictions • Crime as injury more than infraction • Justice as “right-relation” • Justice-making as repair

18. 2. A democratic & dialogical process • Inclusive • Collaborative • Facilitated • Deliberative or dialogical • Story-telling part • Decision-making part • Supportive • Non-coercive • Reparative • Emotional outcomes • Material outcomes • Rehabilitative outcomes

19. 3. A distinctive focus on victims “Justice needs” • Safety • Acknowledgement or validation • Apology or vindication • Information • Re-empowerment • Restitution • Reconnection • Hope

20. Conclusion My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted (Gal. 6:1)

21. Key ingredients • A community of discipline & discipleship • A reliance of power of Holy Spirit to enable restorative response • God’s justice as a “gentle justice” • Humility to acknowledge common human frailty