Roll Away the Stone

By Rachel White, Pastor of Next Steps

My siblings are coming to stay with me this month, and I’ve been thinking about how easy it is, when you’re around family, to get remembered for who you used to be. I was the typical big sister. Bossy. Arrogant, if I’m honest. They probably thought I was holier-than-thou…above it all, too busy being right to actually connect. Even now, decades later, I catch myself bracing for those old roles to resurface, like I’ll walk in the door and instantly become that version of myself again. This month, I’m excited for quality time together as adults. A treasured opportunity to get to know each other as grown-ups, to make new connections, and develop a new depth of friendship.

None of us want to be defined by the worst thing we’ve ever done, or the hardest season we’ve walked through. That’s exactly the heart of what we’ve been sitting in all fall in Isaiah 40–66…a God who proclaims liberty to the captives and freedom for the ones locked away. Living it out means action. One way we do that at Chapel Hill is through prison ministry, locally and globally. It isn’t just about visiting people while they’re locked up—it’s about walking with someone through their reentry, the whole hard road of coming home. Our prison ministry has been the work of one team so far, but this fall it becomes something for the whole church to engage in. We have the privilege of welcoming someone into our church family who has prison in their past. For the team, this person started out as a stranger with a story, but now is a friend with a face. It’s an honor that we all get to go on that journey now too, engaging in the practical outliving of our gospel hope. When you stop and think about it, everyone has a past. She is just a regular person with a story…which is every one of us.

There’s a story in John 11 that’s been shaping how I think about this. Lazarus, four days dead, wrapped in graveclothes in a tomb everyone else had already grieved and moved past. Jesus walks straight toward the one place nobody else wanted to go. But he doesn’t raise Lazarus alone—he tells the community standing there, “Roll away the stone.” Then, after Lazarus stumbles out very much alive, Jesus tells them again: “Unbind him, and let him go.”

Jesus does the miracle. The church does the unbinding.

That’s the picture behind our prison ministry. On September 27 during the service, we will be commissioning our local prison ministry team, called OPOP (One Parish One Prisoner). Their work is deeply relational: writing letters before release, showing up for the hard, unglamorous work of reentry. Our team has already gone through a Kickoff Orientation together, and on the 27th, we get to bless them and send them out with the whole church behind them—because they’re not doing this alone. We’re one body on this journey with them.

And this is bigger than just one team. Three doors are open for you this month, all part of the same work—engaging with prison ministry, locally and globally:

Support the OPOP team. Even if you’re not on the team itself, you can pray for them by name, encourage them, and help carry the weight of a two-year commitment. If you’re drawn to being hands-on, ask about future OPOP teams as this journey continues.
Come to the House of Blessing interest meeting. Right after church on the 27th, we’re hosting an interest meeting for a week-long outreach trip to serve in and around Thai prisons through House of Blessing. No commitment required—just come with your questions. Join us in Room 114 (Adult Wing Classroom), 11:30 am-1:00 pm.
Join the Generosity Tree Serve Team. This fall, our Generosity Tree provides Christmas gifts for the children of people who are incarcerated—the ones who often carry the weight of a parent’s absence with the least support. Serving on this team means finding out wish lists, organizing, wrapping, and bringing the gifts to a Christmas party where families exchange them.

Jesus told his friends to roll away the stone. He’s telling us the same thing. Come on the 27th…stand with our OPOP team as we commission them, ask questions about House of Blessing, sign up for the Generosity Tree Serve Team…and let’s find out together what it looks like to be a resurrection community, not just on Sunday mornings, but for the long haul.

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Pastor Rachel