Jeremiah Prison Ministry Newsletter
JPM is an outreach of Martinsburg Christian Center, Martinsburg, WV
MAY 2016
Revs. Tom & Monica
OUR MISSION & VISION
Our Mission – to help men in
prison reach their fullest in the
Lord.
What we do – Ministering to their
spirit, soul and body, though one
on one mentoring as their spiritual
advisor and friend.
How we began – Jeremiah Prison
Ministry began on November 30,
1999, which was birth out of a
bond for a young man that made a
wrong choice in life.
Our Vision –It hasn’t changed but
security has and won’t allow us to
go into the Chapels. So we
continue to do one on one to God
Be The Glory!
94 men have been released in 16
years. We are ministering to 62
inmates in 4 states.
Celebrated 16 years of Prison Ministry in 2015
I WAS IN PRISON AND YOU VISITED ME – MATT. 25:36B
We are serving Him by serving them! His mercy endures forever. Psalm 106:1
VOLUME 16, ISSUE 06
MAY IS HERE… AND THE HEAT IS STILL ON!
We have gone from heat to having the air conditioner on in one day’s time. It was 48
degrees this morning! It’s been an interesting Spring but I still hear the birdies singing
which is a good sign.
My back has improved greatly, thank you for your prayers. I have just been using
wisdom in what I do.
We made a quick trip to Delaware to tend to some personal things for Tom’s mom and
visit with her. Now the trip isn’t quick, it’s a 4 to 5 hour run one way for us because I
have to get out, stretch and bathroom breaks.
Near the end of April we had our denominational district convention for area. Tom
serves as secretary/treasurer and was reelected for 3 years. We always have a lot of
work getting ready for the convention. Tom loves serving his district.
Hope you like our new picture; yes I am holding my weight loss up a few down a few!
And a big thank you Pastor-Bishop Farley for taking the picture!
PRISON RESTENCING FOR JUVENILE LIFERS RETRO JANUARY 25, 2016.
You can read the article about SCOTUS decision at our website on our homepage.
The resentencing hearings are being scheduled for the juvenile lifers here in PA. I am
following one case real close as I am his spiritual advisor and some of the inmates want
to know the progress. His name Larry and has spent over 40 years in prison. He
contacted me via the new email system that he didn’t know when he would be back at
Camp Hill. I am sure he is at the York County Prison and I am trying to connect with him.
So I googled his case found his article in the York Newspaper online. He saw a judge in
the court of common pleas on April 20, 2016. He has to be evaluated by a either a
psychologist or psychiatrist by July 29th. The judge rescheduled his resentencing for
August 30th.
Here is the issue for these cases which I am quoting from the article:
“It’s possible that both the prosecution and defense could come to an agreement on the
sentence, DA Tom Kearney said. Later on in the hearing, Kearney said he doubts “very
much” that it would be one that allows him to immediately be released.” “Common
Pleas Judge Richard K. Renn brought up how there’s little guidance on how to handle
these cases.”
“In 2012, Pennsylvania enacted a new minimum sentence for people between the ages
of 15 and 17 who commit second-degree murder: 35 years. But the law is not
retroactive. So it’s unclear if the only sentence available to a judge in these cases is still
life without parole. And that’s unconstitutional, the U.S. Supreme Court held, if it’s
handed down automatically.”
Following the hearing, DA Tom Kearney seemed to agree that there is still some
uncertainty. “We’re traveling in uncharted waters. And everyone, here, I think,
recognizes it,” he said. “And we’re going to try to seek justice.”
Let’s pray for mercy for Larry and the other juvenile lifers that will be resentenced.
We thank you for your support and prayers for these sustain us!
Page 2
Keeping you informed
SCOTUS in a 6 -3 decision
rules in favor of
retroactive resentencing
on January 25, 2016.
Praise the Lord!
PRAYER CORNER
~Pray for Jeremiah & Val, Chris,
Harvey, Kevin, Mike, & Richard that
God continues to bless them
spiritually & financially.
~Pray for Larry, Ricky, Lewis, Corey,
Bob, Greg, Eric, Dan & Nathan to
receive favor for commutation,
retrials, resentencing & parole.
~Pray for continued healing for Bob &
Larry. God is moving!
~Pray for Harvey’s complete
recovery, he is doing well.
~Pray for our granddaughter, Leah,
as she comes off meds. Leah
remains CANCER FREE! PTL
~Pray for Andy, our grandson is
moving to OH, new job!
~Pray for Dale our son-in-law, cancer
free.
~Pray for all our families- spiritually,
physically and financially.
~Pray for my brother, Norman
Pray for Tom’s mother, Virginia.
~Pray for the salvation of the world.
Pray for inmates and their families,
our Nation, our leaders, our military
and their families.
~Pray for prison reform in our nation.
~Pray for Bill our dear friend & his
wife Rose for good health.
~Pray for Dotty & her husband Stan
for good health.
~Pray for us for strength and wisdom
in all we do, that we remain cancer
free and healthy to do God’s work, for
our cars to be mechanically sound.
You are an Extended Hand and
a vital part of this ministry.
Together we are making a
difference with Jesus Christ,
taking life to a dark place! We
go because you send us.
Thank You so much!
We traveled 12,585 miles for the
ministry in 2015! Praise the Lord!
Jeremiah Prison Ministry
Revs. Tom & Monica Cohee
223 Cameo Dr.
Fayetteville, PA 17222
717-352-0080 (o) (f)
info@jeremiahprisonministry.com
We’re on the Web!
www.jeremiahprisonministry.com
Your Editor: Rev. Monica Cohee
PASTOR TOM’S PREACHING CORNER
DESTINED TO SUCCEED
Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide
as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give
them. Only be strong and very courageous, that you may
observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant
commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the
left, that you may prosper wherever you go. Joshua 1:6-7 NKJV
God told Joshua that when he entered his Promised Land to do three things. Be strong and
courageous. Always obey the Word. Do not let fear control your life.
God puts a dream in the heart of every believer. It’s the giants of life that come along to try and
steal the dream.
If you step out in faith to accomplish your dreams, it will be scary. You’ll have to leave your
comfort zone and go to a level you don’t know. It may be difficult to leave your comfort zone, but
it’s even harder to leave your dreams behind. Fear will try and hold you in your comfort zone.
If you’re going to fulfill your purpose, you’ll have to be a God pleaser. Many people follow the
crowd and miss the unique thing that God has for them.
You may be in the wilderness as you pursue your dream, but the wilderness is God’s
pathway to your dream. It’s in the wilderness that you have to trust God. It’s in the wilderness
that your faithfulness is tested. It’s in the wilderness that you learn to believe God for the basics of
life.
The wilderness is God’s classroom. You learn not to turn to the left or to the right. You learn
courage in spite of fear.
Your dreams are waiting for you. Even if it looks like your dream has died, God is waiting for you
to pick it up and trust Him.
God made you to accomplish your dreams. Maybe you need to go back to school. Maybe you
need to make some financial strategies. Maybe you need to pick back up your dream.
If you have a dream in your heart, you have to be willing to make sacrifices in order to
achieve it. Don’t forget that Jesus gave His life so we could fulfill our dreams. He gave His
life so that we could live an abundant life and leave a legacy behind.
It’s interesting that people are afraid of doing the very thing they most want to do. Fear
always tries to stop us from fulfilling our calling and purpose.
God wants you to achieve your dreams, but your dreams are to help someone else. The
larger the vision, the more opposition you will face. If you’ll press through fear, you’ll find your
purpose on the other side.
Update on what we do: We currently visit 5 State Prisons in PA on rotating bases, visiting 12
inmates one on one. We can’t get all of them in one month. The travel time to the furthest prison
away from us round trip is 4 ½ to 5 hours in one day. We spend at least 3 to 5 hours at each
prison; it depends on their visiting time schedule. So we are exhausted when we get home. We try
to get 2 to 3 trips in a month as finances are available. Tom also goes into several county prisons
in WV, MD and PA as needed.
We correspond with our newsletter to 29 inmates and we send Birthday, Encouragement and
Christmas cards to a total of 62 inmates into 4 states.
We also use the new email service in PA and still use the JPay email for MI inmates. It’s a quick
way of communication but we limit the use because of the cost.