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White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, Podcast Ep. 18: Is Your Life a Movie? The Producers, with Guests: Lydia B. Smith, Bethany Jones & Will Nix

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

White Collar Week with Jeff Grant

It’s the Isolation that Destroys Us. The Solution is in Community.

Link to home page here.

_______________________

Podcast Ep. 18, Is Your Life a Movie? The Producers on White Collar Week

Many of our friends and colleagues in the white collar justice community tell me that they are writing books about their experiences. Or, that someone should make a movie about them. Even me!

So I contacted a few professionals I know in the movie and television production business and asked them what it takes to actually get the attention of a movie or TV series producer or director. And each of them was happy to come on the podcast to discuss it.

We are calling this episode “Is Your Life a Movie?” Joining us are Lydia B. Smith, Bethany Jones, and my great friend, Will Nix, three movie and television producers who actually make justice-related films or TV shows. And they’ve each provided their contact information for you to get in touch with them.

So coming up, “Is Your Life a Movie? The Producers” on White Collar Week. I hope you will join us. – Jeff

Listen on Apple Podcasts:

Listen on Spotify:

Listen on SoundCloud:

 

Watch on YouTube:

 

 

______________________________

If you have a friend, family member, colleague or client with a white collar justice issue, please forward this email; they can reach us anytime – day or night! Our contact info: http://prisonist.org/contact-us.

______________________________

Guests on this Episode:

Lydia B. Smith

In 1986, Lydia began her film career while interning in college on the first documentary about incest and child sexual abuse, Breaking Silence.  Upon graduation,  she worked on Stories of Change as well as the Academy Award winner, Women: for America, for the World.  She would work on a documentary every year or two while earning a living in the production, camera and electric departments. She directed, produced, and wrote  They’re Just Kids, a 26-minute educational documentary showing how children with disabilities can positively affect our lives; A Legacy Revealed, a 40-minute historical documentary;   Infiniti, a five minute behind the scenes video; and a 20-minute biography Bill Lansing: A Tribute.  Additionally, she was Senior Producer on CNN’s Soldiers of Peace: A Children’s Crusade; Co-Producer and 2nd Unit DP on the CNN documentary The Mystery of the Arctic Rose, 2nd unit DP on the PBS show, Stand Up; American Producer for Chilean TV’s The Route of the Beringia; DP for Anthony Hopkins Teaches and more.  

In 2008 she embarked on her first feature-length documentary Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago which became a worldwide hit, airing on national television and having a successful theatrical release in nine different countries.  It was the #12 documentary in theaters in the United States and Canada in 2014 and the #5 documentary in Australia and New Zealand in 2015, garnering a 90% Rotten Tomatoes rating.  Throughout 2018 and 2019, Walking the Camino aired approximately 2000 times on hundreds of PBS stations nationwide with 1.2 million viewers and counting.  

In addition to her producing and directing career, Lydia has worked as a camera assistant and operator on major motion pictures (e.g Ed Wood, Matilda, Dangerous Minds) top music videos (e.g. Shakira, Britney Spears, Snoop Dog) and countless commercials (e.g. Coke, Ford, Target) 

camino.director@gmail.com

Amend at UCSF: Changing Correctional Culture at Oregon State Penitentiary

Walking the Camino

Press Page

Bethany Jones

Bethany Jones began her career in television working as a researcher on Prison Break. She has since produced hours of TV for Oxygen, History, A&E, CNN, Discovery, CBS and won best sports video of the year for Grantland, ESPN’s pop culture arm. During her career she has interviewed leading government officials, federal agents, United States Attorneys and law enforcement officers across the country. She has also interviewed people that were convicted as spies, arms dealers, murder, terrorism, other notorious crimes and system impacted individuals.  In addition to her TV producing she is a host of the popular podcast, The Pros&Cons which has half a million listens in 81 countries. Bethany holds an honors degree from the University of Wales, U.K. in English literature and French.  

bethany@planzproduction.com

Will Nix

William Nix is the Chairman/CEO of Creative Projects Group® and a Producer with extensive experience in the entertainment, media, sports, and intellectual property fields. He is also a Partner in the social and environmental impact investment firm, LOHAS Advisors and Capital.  He is a member of the Producer’s Council of the PGA, a founding member of its Social Impact Entertainment Task Force and member of its Global One, Education, Independent Film, Documentary and Animation Committees. He is also the Co-Executive Director and a founding member of the SIE Society, the leading alliance in Social Impact Entertainment whose mission is to connect, equip and amplify SIE organizations and creative producers around the globe. He is also a lifetime voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, serving on its Grants Committee, as well as a member of the Television Academy. Will was the Co-Chair of Baker Botts’ Entertainment, Media and Sports Practice Group, VP of Legal and Business Affairs for NBA Properties, and COO of the MPAA’s Global Content Protection Group.

With Producer Salma Hayek, he served as Executive Producer of an animated feature film, distributed by Universal and Netflix, based on Kahlil Gibran’s iconic work, The Prophet. Written and directed by Roger Allers (The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin) and starring Salma Hayek, Liam Neeson and John Krasinski, scored by Gabriel Yared, with Yo-Yo Ma, and songs by Irish singers Damian Rice, Glen Hansard and Lisa Hannigan. Dreamlike animated tone-poem sequences were created by eight world-class animation directors from around the world. Among its ten award nominations were three Annie-Nominations and inclusion in the Oscars Animated Feature Film Nomination Short List.  He is also an Executive Producer on the stop-motion animated feature film entitled The Inventor, about the life of Leonardo da Vinci, written and directed by Jim Capobianco, the Academy Award nominated writer of the Pixar hit Ratatouille.

His recent projects include two documentary features: Power, about access to the global and local energy systems, and a historical overview of an important era of American musical and cultural history entitled This is Ragtime: The Birth of American Music. He is also producing a dramatic biographical feature entitled Gibran, a theatrical stage musical entitled Broken Wings, based on Kahlil Gibran’s first novel about his lost love, Selma, and two fictional dramatic television series, one entitled Trailblazers, based on the pre-NBA stories of professional African-American basketball teams and the other An Accidental Cuban, about a Cuban national in the colonial seaside city of Cienfuegos, hustling as a translator, desperate to leave Cuba and return to America. He and his partners are also developing projects to expand the Daytona International Speedway, and its related family of brands, into a character-based animated/live-action film, television and multimedia entertainment franchise distributed worldwide in all media and ancillary channels.

His work involves both traditional media and multiple content delivery platforms, technologies and genres. He is currently an Advisory Board member of Journeys in Film, a non-profit organization that develops and produces innovative curriculum, discussion guide and other educational materials for teachers/students to use in order to support the reach, understanding and legacy of films and television programs. In addition, he is an Advisory Board member of the USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center’s Hollywood Health & Society, International Cinema Education, the Global Arts Corps, Partnerships for Change and a former Advisory Board member of the Austin Film Festival and Project GRAD USA.

wnix@creativeprojectsgroup.com

www.creativeprojectsgroup.com

www.siesociety.org

www.journeysinfilm.org

______________________

You can find all episodes of our podcast “White Collar Week with Jeff Grant” on our website prisonist.org, our Facebook page, Podbean, YouTube (video), SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.

Information About our White Collar Support Group…

____________________________

Louis Reed/Babz Rawls Ivy PSA:

Some very kind words from my dear friends Louis L. Reed and Babz Rawls Ivy in this brief PSA. Thank you Louis and Babz! – Jeff

______________________________

All Episodes, Season One:

Link here to Podcast Ep. 20: Glenn E. Martin & Richard Bronson: Reinventing Yourself After Prison

Link here to Podcast Ep. 19: Insider Trading Charges Dismissed, with Guest Richard Lee

Link here to Podcast Ep. 18: Is Your Life a Movie? The Producers, with Guests: Lydia B. Smith, Bethany Jones & Will Nix

Link here to Podcast Ep. 17: #TruthHeals: Systemic Abuse & Institutional Reform with Vanessa Osage, feat. Guest Co-Host Chloe Coppola

Link here to Podcast Ep. 16: Politicians, Prison & Penitence, with Guest: Bridgeport, CT Mayor Joseph Ganim

Link here to Podcast Ep. 15: A Brave Talk About Suicide, with Guests Bob Flanagan, Elizabeth Kelley, & Meredith Atwood

Link here to Podcast Ep. 14: Recovery & Neighborhood, with Guest: TNP’s Tom Scott

Link here to Podcast Ep. 13: Everything but Bridgegate, with Guest: Bill Baroni

Link here to Podcast Ep. 12: The Truth Tellers, with Guests: Holli Coulman & Larry Levine

Link here to Podcast Ep. 11: The Blank Canvas, with Guest: Craig Stanland

Link here to Podcast Ep. 10: The Ministers, with Guests: Father Joe Ciccone & Father Rix Thorsell

Link here to Podcast Ep. 09: Small Business Edition, with Guest: Taxgirl Kelly Phillips Erb

Link here to Podcast Ep. 08: The Academics, with Guests: Cathryn Lavery, Jessica Henry, Jay Kennedy & Erin Harbinson

Link here to Podcast Ep. 07: White Collar Wives. with Guests: Lynn Springer, Cassie Monaco & Julie Bennett. Special Guest: Skylar Cluett

Link here to Podcast Ep. 06: Madoff Talks, with Guest: Jim Campbell

Link here to Podcast Ep. 05: Trauma and Healing when Mom goes to Prison, with Guests: Jacqueline Polverari and Her Daughters, Alexa & Maria

Link here to Podcast Ep. 04: One-on-One with Tipper X: Tom Hardin

Link here to Podcast Ep. 03: Compassionate Lawyering: Guests, Chris Poulos, Corey Brinson, Bob Herbst & George Hritz

Link here to Podcast Ep. 02: Substance Abuse & Recovery During COVID-19: Guests, Trevor Shevin & Joshua Cagney

Link here to Podcast Ep. 01: Prison & Reentry in the Age of COVID-19: An Evening with Our White Collar Support Group.

Link here to Podcast Ep. 00: White Collar Week with Jeff Grant: What is White Collar Week?

______________________________

What is the White Collar Justice Community?

Welcome to White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, a podcast serving the white collar justice community. It’s the isolation that destroys us. The solution is in community.

If you are interested in this podcast, then you are probably already a member of the white collar justice community – even if you don’t quite know it yet.  Our community is certainly made up of people being prosecuted, or who have already been prosecuted, for white collar crimes. But it is also made up of the spouses, children and families of those prosecuted for white collar crimes – these are the first victims of white collar crime. And the community also consists of the other victims, both direct and indirect, and those in the wider white collar ecosystem like friends, colleagues, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, law enforcement, academics, researchers. Investigators, mitigation experts, corrections officers, reentry professionals, mental health care professionals, drug and alcohol counselors, – and ministers, chaplains and advocates for criminal and social justice reform. The list goes on and on…

Our mission is to introduce you to other members of the white collar justice community, to hear their very personal stories, and hopefully gain a broader perspective of what this is really all about. Maybe this will inspire some deeper thoughts and introspection? Maybe it will inspire some empathy and compassion for people you might otherwise resent or dismiss? And maybe it will help lift us all out of our own isolation and into community, so we can learn to live again in the sunshine of the spirit.

Along the way, I’ll share with you some of the things I’ve learned in my own journey from successful lawyer, to prescription opioid addict, white collar crime, suicide attempt, disbarment, destruction of my marriage, and the almost 14 months I served in a Federal prison. And also my recovery, love story I share with my wife Lynn Springer, after prison earning a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in NYC, pastoring in an inner city church in Bridgeport CT, and then co-founding with Lynn in Greenwich CT, Progressive Prison Ministries, the world’s first ministry serving the white collar justice community. It’s been quite a ride, but I firmly believe that the best is yet to come.

So I invite you to come along with me as we experience something new, and bold, and different – a podcast that serves the entire white collar justice community. I hope you will join me.

Blessings, לשלום

Jeff

Rev. Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div. (he, him, his) 
Co-founder, Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc., Greenwich CT & Nationwide
Co-host, The Criminal Justice Insider Podcast
Host, White Collar Week
Mailing: P.O. Box 1, Woodbury, CT 06798
Website: prisonist.org
Email: jgrant@prisonist.org
Office: 203-405-6249
Donations (501c3): http://bit.ly/donate35T9kMZ
Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/jeff-grant-woodbury-ct/731344
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/revjeffgrant
not a prison coach, not a prison consultant

_________________________

Thank you for listening to White Collar Week.

Please subscribe, rate and review the podcast if you loved it – it helps others suffering in silence find us if they need us!

_________________________

Follow White Collar Week on Social:

Web: https://prisonist.org/white-collar-week

Facebook: https://facebook.com/whitecollarweek

Twitter: https://twitter.com/whitecollarweek

Instagram: https://instagram.com/whitecollarweek

LinkedIn: https://linkedin/whitecollarweek

_________________________

Follow Jeff Grant on Social:

Web: https://prisonist.org

Facebook: https://Facebook.com/revjeffgrant

Twitter: https://twitter.com/revjeffgrant

Instagram: https://instagram.com/revjeffgrant

LinkedIn: https://linkedin/revjeffgrant

_________________________

Want to be a guest on the Show? Have a connection you’d like to make?

Email us! info@prisonist.org

_________________________

Credits:

Host: Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div.

Production: Chloe Coppola

Audio Engineering: George Antonios: https://georgeantonios.com

Video Engineering: Todd Nixon

Art Direction: Greyskye Marketing, LLC: https://greyskye.com

_________________________

It’s the Isolation that Destroys Us. The Solution is in Community.

Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. is the world’s first ministry supporting the white collar justice community. Founded by husband and wife, Jeff Grant and Lynn Springer in Greenwich CT in 2012, we incorporated as a nonprofit in Connecticut in 2014, and received 501(c)(3) status in 2015.  Jeff has over three decades of experience in crisis management, business, law (former), reentry, recovery (clean & sober 17+ years), and executive and religious leadership. As Jeff was incarcerated for a white-collar crime he committed in 2001, he and Lynn have a first-hand perspective on the trials and tribulations that white-collar families have to endure as they navigate the criminal justice system and life beyond.

Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. is nonsectarian, serving those of all faiths, or no faith whatsoever. To date we have helped over three hundred fifty (350) individuals, and their families, to accept responsibility for their actions and to acknowledge the pain they have caused to others.  In accordance with our commitment to restorative justice, we counsel our members to make amends as a first step in changing their lives and moving towards a new spiritual way of living centered on hope, care, compassion, tolerance, empathy and service to others. Our team has grown to over ten people, most with advanced degrees, all of whom are currently volunteering their time and resources.

Progressive Prison Ministries’ goal is to provide spiritual solutions and emotional support to those who are feeling alone, isolated, and hopeless. We have found that these individuals are suffering from a void but are stuck, and don’t know what to do about it. Our objective is to help them find a path to a healthy, spirit-filled place on the other side of what may seem like insurmountable problems. Many of those we counsel are in a place where their previous lives have come to an end due to their transgressions. In many cases their legal problems have led to divorce, estrangement from their children, families, friends and support communities, and loss of a career. The toll this takes on individuals and families is emotionally devastating. White-collar crimes are often precipitated by other issues in the offenders’ lives such as alcohol or drug abuse, and/or a physical or mental illness that lead to financial issues that overwhelms their ability to be present for themselves and their families and cause poor decision making. We recognize that life often presents us with such circumstances, sometimes which lead us to make mistakes in violation of the law.

All conversations and communications between our ordained ministry, and licensed clinical relationships, and those we serve fall under state privilege laws. This is one reason that attorneys often allow and encourage their clients to maintain relationships with us while in active prosecution or litigation situations.

If you, a friend, family member, colleague or client are suffering from a white collar criminal justice issue or are experiencing some other traumatic or life-altering event, and would like to find a path to a healthy, spirit-filled place on the other side of what seems like insurmountable problems, please contact us to schedule an initial call or appointment.

Copyright 2020, All Rights Reserved, Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc.

 

White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, Podcast Ep. 17: #TruthHeals: Systemic Abuse & Institutional Reform with Vanessa Osage, feat. Guest Co-Host Chloe Coppola

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

White Collar Week with Jeff Grant

It’s the Isolation that Destroys Us. The Solution is in Community.

Link to home page here.

_______________________

Podcast Ep. 17, #TruthHeals: Systemic Abuse & Institutional Reform with Vanessa Osage

Today on the podcast, we have Vanessa Osage, one of the bravest and most intrepid people I have ever met. Vanessa has dedicated her life to breaking down the barriers of stigma and shame in helping others to find a new order of loving accountability and restorative justice.

We are calling this episode “Truth Heals: Systemic Abuse & Institutional Reform.” In it, Vanessa tells her story of reporting sexual abuse at one of our country’s elite boarding schools, retribution, cover-up, engaging and then abandoning the legal system, attention in some of the nation’s most respected newspapers and media, starting a non-profit to serve others going through these kinds of issues, and writing her incredible memoir, Can’t Stop the Sunrise: Adventures in Healing, Confronting Corruption, & the Journey to Institutional Reform.

Joining us as co-host is Chloe Coppola, an advocate with us at Progressive Prison Ministries, who shares the story of her sexual abuse and institutional response while she was a student at her own prep school.

Two courageous women telling their stories in intimate and powerful ways. So coming up, #TruthHeals on White Collar Week. I hope you will join us. – Jeff

 

Listen on Apple Podcasts:

Listen on Spotify:

 

Listen on SoundCloud:

 

Watch on YouTube:

 

______________________________

If you have a friend, family member, colleague or client with a white collar justice issue, please forward this email; they can reach us anytime – day or night! Our contact info: http://prisonist.org/contact-us.

______________________________

Guests on this Episode:

Vanessa Osage

Vanessa Osage is on a mission to leave this world better than she found it. She is a Certified Sexuality Educator, Consultant & Professional Coach. A two-time Nonprofit Founder, Vanessa Osage is President of The Amends Project, with a mission to “mend the loophole”, and creator of The Justice CORPS Initiative. In 2017, she won the Kickass Single Mom Award for her work in sexuality education and youth rites of passage. Her essays have been featured in Circles on the Mountain, The Confluence Journal, Role Reboot & more. Can’t Stop the Sunrise is her first book.

Connect at vanessaosage.com & @vanessaosage 

Can’t Stop the Sunrise at Amazon

Vanessa’s author website with more book-buying options

The Amends Project and The Justice CORPS

Guest Blog: White Male Privilege: Q & A, A Book Excerpt by Vanessa Osage

Chloe Coppola – Guest Co-Host

Chloe Coppola is an Advocate with us at Progressive Prison Ministries. Among many other things, she organizes our online White Collar Support Group that meets on Zoom on Monday evenings, is a liaison and navigator on behalf of our group members, organizes our podcasts White Collar Week and Criminal Justice Insider, and is a dedicated researcher and writer on criminal, racial and women’s justice themes. Chloe can be reached at ccoppola@alumni.scu.edu and LinkedIn.

______________________

You can find all episodes of our podcast “White Collar Week with Jeff Grant” on our website prisonist.org, our Facebook page, Podbean, YouTube (video), SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.

Information About our White Collar Support Group…

____________________________

Louis Reed/Babz Rawls Ivy PSA:

Some very kind words from my dear friends Louis L. Reed and Babz Rawls Ivy in this brief PSA. Thank you Louis and Babz! – Jeff

______________________________

All Episodes:

Link here to Podcast Ep. 20: Glenn E. Martin & Richard Bronson: Reinventing Yourself After Prison

Link here to Podcast Ep. 19: Insider Trading Charges Dismissed, with Guest Richard Lee

Link here to Podcast Ep. 18: Is Your Life a Movie? The Producers, with Guests: Lydia B. Smith, Bethany Jones & Will Nix

Link here to Podcast Ep. 17: #TruthHeals: Systemic Abuse & Institutional Reform with Vanessa Osage, feat. Guest Co-Host Chloe Coppola

Link here to Podcast Ep. 16: Politicians, Prison & Penitence, with Guest: Bridgeport, CT Mayor Joseph Ganim

Link here to Podcast Ep. 15: A Brave Talk About Suicide, with Guests Bob Flanagan, Elizabeth Kelley, & Meredith Atwood

Link here to Podcast Ep. 14: Recovery & Neighborhood, with Guest: TNP’s Tom Scott

Link here to Podcast Ep. 13: Everything but Bridgegate, with Guest: Bill Baroni

Link here to Podcast Ep. 12: The Truth Tellers, with Guests: Holli Coulman & Larry Levine

Link here to Podcast Ep. 11: The Blank Canvas, with Guest: Craig Stanland

Link here to Podcast Ep. 10: The Ministers, with Guests: Father Joe Ciccone & Father Rix Thorsell

Link here to Podcast Ep. 09: Small Business Edition, with Guest: Taxgirl Kelly Phillips Erb

Link here to Podcast Ep. 08: The Academics, with Guests: Cathryn Lavery, Jessica Henry, Jay Kennedy & Erin Harbinson

Link here to Podcast Ep. 07: White Collar Wives. with Guests: Lynn Springer, Cassie Monaco & Julie Bennett. Special Guest: Skylar Cluett

Link here to Podcast Ep. 06: Madoff Talks, with Guest: Jim Campbell

Link here to Podcast Ep. 05: Trauma and Healing when Mom goes to Prison, with Guests: Jacqueline Polverari and Her Daughters, Alexa & Maria

Link here to Podcast Ep. 04: One-on-One with Tipper X: Tom Hardin

Link here to Podcast Ep. 03: Compassionate Lawyering: Guests, Chris Poulos, Corey Brinson, Bob Herbst & George Hritz

Link here to Podcast Ep. 02: Substance Abuse & Recovery During COVID-19: Guests, Trevor Shevin & Joshua Cagney

Link here to Podcast Ep. 01: Prison & Reentry in the Age of COVID-19: An Evening with Our White Collar Support Group.

Link here to Podcast Ep. 00: White Collar Week with Jeff Grant: What is White Collar Week?

______________________________

What is the White Collar Justice Community?

Welcome to White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, a podcast serving the white collar justice community. It’s the isolation that destroys us. The solution is in community.

If you are interested in this podcast, then you are probably already a member of the white collar justice community – even if you don’t quite know it yet.  Our community is certainly made up of people being prosecuted, or who have already been prosecuted, for white collar crimes. But it is also made up of the spouses, children and families of those prosecuted for white collar crimes – these are the first victims of white collar crime. And the community also consists of the other victims, both direct and indirect, and those in the wider white collar ecosystem like friends, colleagues, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, law enforcement, academics, researchers. Investigators, mitigation experts, corrections officers, reentry professionals, mental health care professionals, drug and alcohol counselors, – and ministers, chaplains and advocates for criminal and social justice reform. The list goes on and on…

Our mission is to introduce you to other members of the white collar justice community, to hear their very personal stories, and hopefully gain a broader perspective of what this is really all about. Maybe this will inspire some deeper thoughts and introspection? Maybe it will inspire some empathy and compassion for people you might otherwise resent or dismiss? And maybe it will help lift us all out of our own isolation and into community, so we can learn to live again in the sunshine of the spirit.

Along the way, I’ll share with you some of the things I’ve learned in my own journey from successful lawyer, to prescription opioid addict, white collar crime, suicide attempt, disbarment, destruction of my marriage, and the almost 14 months I served in a Federal prison. And also my recovery, love story I share with my wife Lynn Springer, after prison earning a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in NYC, pastoring in an inner city church in Bridgeport CT, and then co-founding with Lynn in Greenwich CT, Progressive Prison Ministries, the world’s first ministry serving the white collar justice community. It’s been quite a ride, but I firmly believe that the best is yet to come.

So I invite you to come along with me as we experience something new, and bold, and different – a podcast that serves the entire white collar justice community. I hope you will join me.

Blessings, לשלום

Jeff

Rev. Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div. (he, him, his) 
Co-founder, Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc., Greenwich CT & Nationwide
Co-host, The Criminal Justice Insider Podcast
Host, White Collar Week
Mailing: P.O. Box 1, Woodbury, CT 06798
Website: prisonist.org
Email: jgrant@prisonist.org
Office: 203-405-6249
Donations (501c3): http://bit.ly/donate35T9kMZ
Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/jeff-grant-woodbury-ct/731344
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/revjeffgrant
not a prison coach, not a prison consultant

_________________________

Thank you for listening to White Collar Week.

Please subscribe, rate and review the podcast if you loved it – it helps others suffering in silence find us if they need us!

_________________________

Follow White Collar Week on Social:

Web: https://prisonist.org/white-collar-week

Facebook: https://facebook.com/whitecollarweek

Twitter: https://twitter.com/whitecollarweek

Instagram: https://instagram.com/whitecollarweek

LinkedIn: https://linkedin/whitecollarweek

_________________________

Follow Jeff Grant on Social:

Web: https://prisonist.org

Facebook: https://Facebook.com/revjeffgrant

Twitter: https://twitter.com/revjeffgrant

Instagram: https://instagram.com/revjeffgrant

LinkedIn: https://linkedin/revjeffgrant

_________________________

Want to be a guest on the Show? Have a connection you’d like to make?

Email us! info@prisonist.org

_________________________

Credits:

Host: Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div.

Production: Chloe Coppola

Audio Engineering: George Antonios: https://georgeantonios.com

Video Engineering: Todd Nixon

Art Direction: Greyskye Marketing, LLC: https://greyskye.com

_________________________

It’s the Isolation that Destroys Us. The Solution is in Community.

Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. is the world’s first ministry supporting the white collar justice community. Founded by husband and wife, Jeff Grant and Lynn Springer in Greenwich CT in 2012, we incorporated as a nonprofit in Connecticut in 2014, and received 501(c)(3) status in 2015.  Jeff has over three decades of experience in crisis management, business, law (former), reentry, recovery (clean & sober 17+ years), and executive and religious leadership. As Jeff was incarcerated for a white-collar crime he committed in 2001, he and Lynn have a first-hand perspective on the trials and tribulations that white-collar families have to endure as they navigate the criminal justice system and life beyond.

Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. is nonsectarian, serving those of all faiths, or no faith whatsoever. To date we have helped over three hundred fifty (350) individuals, and their families, to accept responsibility for their actions and to acknowledge the pain they have caused to others.  In accordance with our commitment to restorative justice, we counsel our members to make amends as a first step in changing their lives and moving towards a new spiritual way of living centered on hope, care, compassion, tolerance, empathy and service to others. Our team has grown to over ten people, most with advanced degrees, all of whom are currently volunteering their time and resources.

Progressive Prison Ministries’ goal is to provide spiritual solutions and emotional support to those who are feeling alone, isolated, and hopeless. We have found that these individuals are suffering from a void but are stuck, and don’t know what to do about it. Our objective is to help them find a path to a healthy, spirit-filled place on the other side of what may seem like insurmountable problems. Many of those we counsel are in a place where their previous lives have come to an end due to their transgressions. In many cases their legal problems have led to divorce, estrangement from their children, families, friends and support communities, and loss of a career. The toll this takes on individuals and families is emotionally devastating. White-collar crimes are often precipitated by other issues in the offenders’ lives such as alcohol or drug abuse, and/or a physical or mental illness that lead to financial issues that overwhelms their ability to be present for themselves and their families and cause poor decision making. We recognize that life often presents us with such circumstances, sometimes which lead us to make mistakes in violation of the law.

All conversations and communications between our ordained ministry, and licensed clinical relationships, and those we serve fall under state privilege laws. This is one reason that attorneys often allow and encourage their clients to maintain relationships with us while in active prosecution or litigation situations.

If you, a friend, family member, colleague or client are suffering from a white collar criminal justice issue or are experiencing some other traumatic or life-altering event, and would like to find a path to a healthy, spirit-filled place on the other side of what seems like insurmountable problems, please contact us to schedule an initial call or appointment.

Copyright 2020, All Rights Reserved, Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc.

 

White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, Podcast Ep. 10: The Ministers, with Guests: Father Joe Ciccone & Father Rix Thorsell

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

White Collar Week with Jeff Grant

It’s the Isolation that Destroys Us. The Solution is in Community.

_______________________

Podcast Ep. 10: The Ministers, with Guests: Father Joe Ciccone & Father Rix Thorsell

Today on the podcast, we have two of my dearest and closest friends and colleagues, Father Joe Ciccone and Father Rix Thorsell of Saint Joseph Mission Church in Cliffside Park, New Jersey. Both Fr. Joe and Fr. Rix were classmates of mine at Union Theological Seminary in New York City.

Both were convicted of white collar crimes. And both are members of our online White Collar Support Group that meets on Monday evenings.

Fr. Joe was the County Sheriff of Bergen County, New Jersey, one of the highest-profile positions in one of the most affluent counties in the United States. Joe was elected and served on this position until he pled guilty for campaign funds violations. His case and face were splashed across newscasts and newspapers in the greater New York area.

Fr. Rix, on the other hand, moved from seminary to become the youth pastor at a parish church where his gambling addiction caught up with him. He was prosecuted and lost his position for stealing $300 worth of gift cards from the church.

From the lowest moments of their lives, both Fr. Joe and Fr. Rix grew and evolved to become ordained reverends, healers devoted to serving others.

So coming up, The Ministers. On White Collar Week. I hope you will join us. – Jeff

Listen on Apple Podcasts:

Listen on Spotify:

Listen on SoundCloud:

https://soundcloud.com/whitecollarweek/white-collar-week-ep-10-the-ministers

Watch on YouTube:

______________________________

If you have a friend, family member, colleague or client with a white collar justice issue, please forward this email; they can reach us anytime – day or night! Our contact info: http://prisonist.org/contact-us.

______________________________

Guests on this Episode:

Rev. Dr. Joseph Ciccone: Father Joe is a Priest in the Order of Franciscan Servants and a graduate of Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York with a Master of Divinity Degree in Ministry and Pastoral Care. Fr Joe is currently assigned to Saint Joseph Mission Church, bringing the Gospel to those in the margins and to people in need wherever they may be. He has just completed his 6th year of CPE (Chaplain Program) at the Jewish Theological Seminary in NYC. Before that, I spent four years at a Friary in PA where he was ordained. Fr Joe holds a doctorate in Education and is a retired Police Commander in addition to his vocational call that specializes in traditional and non-traditional Catholic, Christian, and Interfaith services and ceremonies. The Saint Joseph Mission on the Move began in New Jersey in 2016, thus far has married over 400 couples, Baptized so many of the children and some of the couples we have married. We make countless hospital visits and give the anointing of the sick, bring the sacraments to the homebound, the lost and broken, and those who need God’s love but have been hurt by the traditional church. Fr Joe also is teaching for the Jesuit Refugee Mission in Africa online – it has been an amazing experience helping those across the globe, we are indeed a mission moving everywhere. I have loved every minute of the past decade and looking forward to doing God’s work in serving all of God’s people for many years to come. Speaking of that – come to one of our mass or call if we can do anything sacred for you! All of God’s love, Fr Joe

Father Rix: Rev. Rix Thorsell is a graduate of Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York with a Master of Divinity Degree in Ministry and Pastoral Care (MDiv 2010), and Drake University (BA in Political Science & Religious Studies) and a Priest in the Order of Franciscan Servants. After working for various church communities to create and develop ministry programs from high school through college, Fr. Rix entered formal ministry in 2013 as an Associate Pastor for Youth and Young Adults in the suburbs of Chicago. After leaving his previous denomination in 2015, Fr. Rix joined the Progressive Catholic Church and has continued his ministry to both bring younger voices into the Church as well as facilitating the transition to new technological mediums for various non-profits. Rix currently works for Saint Joseph Mission Church as a pastoral liaison and manages various podcasts and educational forums, including “From Police to Priest” and “Stream of Thought” by VNR Media.

______________________

You can find all episodes of our podcast “White Collar Week with Jeff Grant” on our website prisonist.org, our Facebook page, Podbean, YouTube (video), SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.

Information About our White Collar Support Group…

____________________________

Louis Reed/Babz Rawls Ivy PSA:

Some very kind words from my dear friends Louis L. Reed and Babz Rawls Ivy in this brief PSA. Thank you Louis and Babz! – Jeff

______________________________

All Episodes:

Link here to Podcast Ep. 20: Glenn E. Martin & Richard Bronson: Reinventing Yourself After Prison

Link here to Podcast Ep. 19: Insider Trading Charges Dismissed, with Guest Richard Lee

Link here to Podcast Ep. 18: Is Your Life a Movie? The Producers, with Guests: Lydia B. Smith, Bethany Jones & Will Nix

Link here to Podcast Ep. 17: #TruthHeals: Systemic Abuse & Institutional Reform with Vanessa Osage, feat. Guest Co-Host Chloe Coppola

Link here to Podcast Ep. 16: Politicians, Prison & Penitence, with Guest: Bridgeport, CT Mayor Joseph Ganim

Link here to Podcast Ep. 15: A Brave Talk About Suicide, with Guests Bob Flanagan, Elizabeth Kelley, & Meredith Atwood

Link here to Podcast Ep. 14: Recovery & Neighborhood, with Guest: TNP’s Tom Scott

Link here to Podcast Ep. 13: Everything but Bridgegate, with Guest: Bill Baroni

Link here to Podcast Ep. 12: The Truth Tellers, with Guests: Holli Coulman & Larry Levine

Link here to Podcast Ep. 11: The Blank Canvas, with Guest: Craig Stanland

Link here to Podcast Ep. 10: The Ministers, with Guests: Father Joe Ciccone & Father Rix Thorsell

Link here to Podcast Ep. 09: Small Business Edition, with Guest: Taxgirl Kelly Phillips Erb

Link here to Podcast Ep. 08: The Academics, with Guests: Cathryn Lavery, Jessica Henry, Jay Kennedy & Erin Harbinson

Link here to Podcast Ep. 07: White Collar Wives. with Guests: Lynn Springer, Cassie Monaco & Julie Bennett. Special Guest: Skylar Cluett

Link here to Podcast Ep. 06: Madoff Talks, with Guest: Jim Campbell

Link here to Podcast Ep. 05: Trauma and Healing when Mom goes to Prison, with Guests: Jacqueline Polverari and Her Daughters, Alexa & Maria

Link here to Podcast Ep. 04: One-on-One with Tipper X: Tom Hardin

Link here to Podcast Ep. 03: Compassionate Lawyering: Guests, Chris Poulos, Corey Brinson, Bob Herbst & George Hritz

Link here to Podcast Ep. 02: Substance Abuse & Recovery During COVID-19: Guests, Trevor Shevin & Joshua Cagney

Link here to Podcast Ep. 01: Prison & Reentry in the Age of COVID-19: An Evening with Our White Collar Support Group.

Link here to Podcast Ep. 00: White Collar Week with Jeff Grant: What is White Collar Week?

______________________________

What is the White Collar Justice Community?

Welcome to White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, a podcast serving the white collar justice community. It’s the isolation that destroys us. The solution is in community.

If you are interested in this podcast, then you are probably already a member of the white collar justice community – even if you don’t quite know it yet.  Our community is certainly made up of people being prosecuted, or who have already been prosecuted, for white collar crimes. But it is also made up of the spouses, children and families of those prosecuted for white collar crimes – these are the first victims of white collar crime. And the community also consists of the other victims, both direct and indirect, and those in the wider white collar ecosystem like friends, colleagues, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, law enforcement, academics, researchers. Investigators, mitigation experts, corrections officers, reentry professionals, mental health care professionals, drug and alcohol counselors, – and ministers, chaplains and advocates for criminal and social justice reform. The list goes on and on…

In this very eventful summer 2020, our mission is to introduce you to other members of the white collar justice community, to hear their very personal stories, and hopefully gain a broader perspective of what this is really all about. Maybe this will inspire some deeper thoughts and introspection? Maybe it will inspire some empathy and compassion for people you might otherwise resent or dismiss? And maybe it will help lift us all out of our own isolation and into community, so we can learn to live again in the sunshine of the spirit.

Along the way, I’ll share with you some of the things I’ve learned in my own journey from successful lawyer, to prescription opioid addict, white collar crime, suicide attempt, disbarment, destruction of my marriage, and the almost 14 months I served in a Federal prison. And also my recovery, love story I share with my wife Lynn Springer, after prison earning a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in NYC, pastoring in an inner city church in Bridgeport CT, and then co-founding with Lynn in Greenwich CT, Progressive Prison Ministries, the world’s first ministry serving the white collar justice community. It’s been quite a ride, but I firmly believe that the best is yet to come.

So I invite you to come along with me as we experience something new, and bold, and different this summer – a podcast that serves the entire white collar justice community. I hope you will join me.

Blessings, לשלום

Jeff

Rev. Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div. (he, him, his) 
Co-founder, Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc., Greenwich CT & Nationwide
Co-host, The Criminal Justice Insider Podcast
Host, White Collar Week
Mailing: P.O. Box 1, Woodbury, CT 06798
Website: prisonist.org
Email: jgrant@prisonist.org
Office: 203-405-6249
Donations (501c3): http://bit.ly/donate35T9kMZ
Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/jeff-grant-woodbury-ct/731344
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/revjeffgrant
not a prison coach, not a prison consultant

_________________________

Thank you for listening to White Collar Week.

Please subscribe, rate and review the podcast if you loved it – it helps others suffering in silence find us if they need us!

_________________________

Follow White Collar Week on Social:

Web: https://prisonist.org/white-collar-week

Facebook: https://facebook.com/whitecollarweek

Twitter: https://twitter.com/whitecollarweek

Instagram: https://instagram.com/whitecollarweek

LinkedIn: https://linkedin/whitecollarweek

_________________________

Follow Jeff Grant on Social:

Web: https://prisonist.org

Facebook: https://Facebook.com/revjeffgrant

Twitter: https://twitter.com/revjeffgrant

Instagram: https://instagram.com/revjeffgrant

LinkedIn: https://linkedin/revjeffgrant

_________________________

Want to be a guest on the Show? Have a connection you’d like to make?

Email us! info@prisonist.org

_________________________

Credits:

Host: Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div.

Audio Engineering: George Antonios: https://georgeantonios.com

Video Engineering: Todd Nixon

Art Direction: Greyskye Marketing, LLC: https://greyskye.com

_________________________

It’s the Isolation that Destroys Us. The Solution is in Community.

Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. is the world’s first ministry supporting the white collar justice community. Founded by husband and wife, Jeff Grant and Lynn Springer in Greenwich CT in 2012, we incorporated as a nonprofit in Connecticut in 2014, and received 501(c)(3) status in 2015.  Jeff has over three decades of experience in crisis management, business, law (former), reentry, recovery (clean & sober 17+ years), and executive and religious leadership. As Jeff was incarcerated for a white-collar crime he committed in 2001, he and Lynn have a first-hand perspective on the trials and tribulations that white-collar families have to endure as they navigate the criminal justice system and life beyond.

Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. is nonsectarian, serving those of all faiths, or no faith whatsoever. To date we have helped over three hundred fifty (350) individuals, and their families, to accept responsibility for their actions and to acknowledge the pain they have caused to others.  In accordance with our commitment to restorative justice, we counsel our members to make amends as a first step in changing their lives and moving towards a new spiritual way of living centered on hope, care, compassion, tolerance, empathy and service to others. Our team has grown to over ten people, most with advanced degrees, all of whom are currently volunteering their time and resources.

Progressive Prison Ministries’ goal is to provide spiritual solutions and emotional support to those who are feeling alone, isolated, and hopeless. We have found that these individuals are suffering from a void but are stuck, and don’t know what to do about it. Our objective is to help them find a path to a healthy, spirit-filled place on the other side of what may seem like insurmountable problems. Many of those we counsel are in a place where their previous lives have come to an end due to their transgressions. In many cases their legal problems have led to divorce, estrangement from their children, families, friends and support communities, and loss of a career. The toll this takes on individuals and families is emotionally devastating. White-collar crimes are often precipitated by other issues in the offenders’ lives such as alcohol or drug abuse, and/or a physical or mental illness that lead to financial issues that overwhelms their ability to be present for themselves and their families and cause poor decision making. We recognize that life often presents us with such circumstances, sometimes which lead us to make mistakes in violation of the law.

All conversations and communications between our ordained ministry, and licensed clinical relationships, and those we serve fall under state privilege laws. This is one reason that attorneys often allow and encourage their clients to maintain relationships with us while in active prosecution or litigation situations.

If you, a friend, family member, colleague or client are suffering from a white collar criminal justice issue or are experiencing some other traumatic or life-altering event, and would like to find a path to a healthy, spirit-filled place on the other side of what seems like insurmountable problems, please contact us to schedule an initial call or appointment.

Copyright 2020, All Rights Reserved, Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc.

 

White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, Podcast Episode 03: Compassionate Lawyering, with Guests: Chris Poulos, Corey Brinson, Bob Herbst & George Hritz

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White Collar Week with Jeff Grant
A Podcast Serving the White Collar Justice Community

Limited 10 Show Run: Summer 2020

It’s the Isolation that Destroys Us. The Solution is in Community.

_______________________

Podcast Ep. 03: Compassionate Lawyering,with Guests: Chris Poulos, Corey Brinson, Bob Herbst & George Hritz

 

Today on the podcast we have a very special show about compassionate lawyering. We have on three lawyers and one former lawyer whom I know well and respect: Corey Brinson, Chris Poulos, Bob Herbst and my old friend George Hritz.

We define compassionate lawyering as giving something more than just a case solution to clients. That is, our four guests discuss putting in that extra mile to help clients find a better, more productive life during and after their issues. They share lots of stories about successes and difficulties in representing individual clients and in advocating for humanistic changes to the criminal justice system. 

It’s an important show if you are a lawyer, if you know a lawyer, and, most importantly, if you hire a lawyer.

I hope you will join us. – Jeff

Listen on Apple Podcasts:

Listen on Spotify:

Watch on YouTube:

Listen on SoundCloud:

 

Guests on this Episode:

Corey Brinson focuses on advancing Legal Action Center’s policy advocacy priorities in New York State and plays a lead role in Legal Action Center’s criminal justice reform agenda. Before joining Legal Action Center , Corey founded the Second Chance Firm, LLC, where he serves as a criminal justice consultant, assisted people with pardons, and advocated for criminal justice reform as a lobbyist. Corey has been impacted by the criminal justice system and draws on his unique experiences to inform his work as a policy advocate. Corey has been a member of the Hartford City Council, operated a law firm where he defended 400 people in criminal matters in state and federal court and won acquittals at trial, and served in the Air National Guard and received the National Defense Service Medal for military service in Saudi Arabia on September 11, 2001. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from UCONN and a law degree from UCONN School of Law. He is currently a candidate for a LLM (master of laws) in Human Rights and Social Justice from UCONN School of Law. Corey is from Hartford, Connecticut, and he is a big fan of UCONN basketball. Corey Brinson can be reached at: corey@secondchancefirm.com.

Christopher Poulos is an attorney and the Executive Director of the Washington Statewide Reentry Council. Prior to his appointment, he served as Executive Director of Life of Purpose Treatment at the University of North Texas, where he was also an Adjunct Professor of Criminal Justice. During law school, he served at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and The Sentencing Project. Poulos has advised United States Senator Angus King (I-Maine) on addiction and justice policy and served on several local, state, and federal taskforces related to criminal justice policy. Poulos has also taught in the Political Science Department at Seattle Central College. The United States Department Justice consulted with him as one of the nation’s most successful people following incarceration. He graduated cum laude from the University of Maine School of Law, where he was President of the American Constitution Society and represented children facing criminal charges as a student attorney in the Juvenile Justice Clinic.

Poulos is a national leader in criminal justice policy and addiction recovery. He has presented his work to diverse organizations across the United States – including state and federal prisons, jails, large nonprofits, national conferences, universities, law schools, the White House and other governmental bodies, as well as addiction recovery organizations.

Prior to law school, Poulos overcame many obstacles, including tragic family losses, addiction, homelessness, and a federal incarceration. He now dedicates his life to helping others overcome or avoid similar challenges and he supports a public health-based approach to addiction. His work promotes equal access to the law and seeks to end mass incarceration and the collateral consequences now facing the tens of millions of people with criminal convictions.

Poulos’s work and story have been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, NBC News, Harvard Law & Policy Review, The Epoch Times, and a myriad of other national and local media outlets. He was named among “Maine’s Most Intriguing People” in Portland Magazine’s annual publication and selected as a “Law Student of the Year” by National Jurist Magazine. Christopher Poulos can be reached at christopher.poulos@commerce.wa.gov.

Bob Herbst has been trying civil and criminal cases to juries for almost 40 years. He grew up on the criminal side of the court as a federal prosecutor in Chicago and Philadelphia, where he specialized in major economic crime and public corruption cases, and as Executive Assistant District Attorney in Brooklyn, New York, where he headed the Investigative Bureaus and supervised all of that office’s investigations and prosecutions of white collar crime and official corruption. Since 1983, Mr. Herbst has been in private civil litigation and criminal defense practice, specializing, on the civil side, primarily in civil rights, employment and housing discrimination cases and class actions in the federal and state courts. He has more than 25 years’ experience representing victims of police, corrections and other municipal or state misconduct; sexual harassment and other forms of sex or gender discrimination; race, ethnic, and disability discrimination, and consumer and securities fraud. His experience also includes cases involving whistleblower-protection, malpractice, defamation, false allegations of child abuse, inadequate premises security, commercial, banking and real estate disputes, products liability, and intellectual property. Mr. Herbst has actively represented his clients in mediation and arbitration as well as in court, and often counsels employees prior to, and in an effort to avoid, litigation. He is currently Independent Counsel to the Special Court for Sierra Leone.

Mr. Herbst is a graduate of Princeton University and the Yale Law School. He has taught trial practice to law students, government and private lawyers, and federal judges. He has repeatedly been selected as one of New York’s SuperLawyers and is widely-known as one of New York City’s leading, most experienced and successful private civil rights and employment trial lawyers. He has served on the Executive Board of the New York affiliate of the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA/NY) and the Advisory Board of NYU’s Center for Labor and Employment Law. He has been an active private pilot for more than 35 years. Robert Herbst can be reached at http://herbstlawny.com/.

George Hritz handles complex litigation, arbitration and other disputes and often serves as part-time general counsel for individuals and companies. He is a graduate of Princeton University, where he was a classmate of Bob Herbst, and Columbia Law School, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar.

George clerked for a federal district judge in New York and was associated with the Cravath law firm. After and during periods of government service in Washington D.C., he was a partner at the Hogan Lovells law firm and its predecessors in New York for 30 years before starting his own practice in Connecticut and in New York, where he is also of counsel to the Westchester law firm founded by the son of the judge he clerked for at the beginning of his career.

George has published numerous articles in U.S., European, Asian and Middle Eastern journals and presented at various litigation and arbitration conferences and panels on ethical issues, electronic discovery, international arbitration, extraterritorial jurisdiction, litigation funding, legal history and U.S. anti-slavery litigation and separate settlement counsel and other dispute resolution techniques.

In addition to his law practice, George is co-founder, President Emeritus and General Counsel of Princeton in Africa, which has placed over 500 recent college and professional school graduates at more than 50 organizations in over 30 African countries in the past 20 years. He also served for over 30 years on the Board and Overseers of the International Rescue Committee, a prominent refugee relief organization and was its General Counsel.

George also served as Associate Independent Counsel in a federal grand jury investigation and lengthy trial of a former U.S. government official in Washington, D.C. and as Associate Special Counsel to a Special Inquiry of the United States Senate. He also served as the Chairman of a municipal planning board in New York, as the capital campaign co-chair for a historic Westchester church and chairman and member of co-op and condominium boards in Connecticut and Manhattan. George Hritz can be reached at george@hritzlaw.com.

______________________

You can find all episodes of our podcast “White Collar Week with Jeff Grant” on our website prisonist.org, our Facebook page, Podbean, YouTube (video), SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.

Information About our White Collar Support Group…

____________________________

Louis Reed/Babz Rawls Ivy PSA:

Some very kind words from my dear friends Louis L. Reed and Babz Rawls Ivy in this brief PSA. Thank you Louis and Babz! – Jeff

______________________________

All Episodes:

Link here to Podcast Ep. 20: Glenn E. Martin & Richard Bronson: Reinventing Yourself After Prison

Link here to Podcast Ep. 19: Insider Trading Charges Dismissed, with Guest Richard Lee

Link here to Podcast Ep. 18: Is Your Life a Movie? The Producers, with Guests: Lydia B. Smith, Bethany Jones & Will Nix

Link here to Podcast Ep. 17: #TruthHeals: Systemic Abuse & Institutional Reform with Vanessa Osage, feat. Guest Co-Host Chloe Coppola

Link here to Podcast Ep. 16: Politicians, Prison & Penitence, with Guest: Bridgeport, CT Mayor Joseph Ganim

Link here to Podcast Ep. 15: A Brave Talk About Suicide, with Guests Bob Flanagan, Elizabeth Kelley, & Meredith Atwood

Link here to Podcast Ep. 14: Recovery & Neighborhood, with Guest: TNP’s Tom Scott

Link here to Podcast Ep. 13: Everything but Bridgegate, with Guest: Bill Baroni

Link here to Podcast Ep. 12: The Truth Tellers, with Guests: Holli Coulman & Larry Levine

Link here to Podcast Ep. 11: The Blank Canvas, with Guest: Craig Stanland

Link here to Podcast Ep. 10: The Ministers, with Guests: Father Joe Ciccone & Father Rix Thorsell

Link here to Podcast Ep. 09: Small Business Edition, with Guest: Taxgirl Kelly Phillips Erb

Link here to Podcast Ep. 08: The Academics, with Guests: Cathryn Lavery, Jessica Henry, Jay Kennedy & Erin Harbinson

Link here to Podcast Ep. 07: White Collar Wives. with Guests: Lynn Springer, Cassie Monaco & Julie Bennett. Special Guest: Skylar Cluett

Link here to Podcast Ep. 06: Madoff Talks, with Guest: Jim Campbell

Link here to Podcast Ep. 05: Trauma and Healing when Mom goes to Prison, with Guests: Jacqueline Polverari and Her Daughters, Alexa & Maria

Link here to Podcast Ep. 04: One-on-One with Tipper X: Tom Hardin

Link here to Podcast Ep. 03: Compassionate Lawyering: Guests, Chris Poulos, Corey Brinson, Bob Herbst & George Hritz

Link here to Podcast Ep. 02: Substance Abuse & Recovery During COVID-19: Guests, Trevor Shevin & Joshua Cagney

Link here to Podcast Ep. 01: Prison & Reentry in the Age of COVID-19: An Evening with Our White Collar Support Group.

Link here to Podcast Ep. 00: White Collar Week with Jeff Grant: What is White Collar Week?

______________________________

Welcome to White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, a podcast serving the white collar justice community. It’s the isolation that destroys us. The solution is in community.

If you are interested in this podcast, then you are probably already a member of the white collar justice community – even if you don’t quite know it yet.  Our community is certainly made up of people being prosecuted, or who have already been prosecuted, for white collar crimes. But it is also made up of the spouses, children and families of those prosecuted for white collar crimes – these are the first victims of white collar crime. And the community also consists of the other victims, both direct and indirect, and those in the wider white collar ecosystem like friends, colleagues, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, law enforcement, academics, researchers. Investigators, mitigation experts, corrections officers, reentry professionals, mental health care professionals, drug and alcohol counselors, – and ministers, chaplains and advocates for criminal and social justice reform. The list goes on and on…

In this very eventful summer 2020, our mission is to introduce you to other members of the white collar justice community, to hear their very personal stories, and hopefully gain a broader perspective of what this is really all about. Maybe this will inspire some deeper thoughts and introspection? Maybe it will inspire some empathy and compassion for people you might otherwise resent or dismiss? And maybe it will help lift us all out of our own isolation and into community, so we can learn to live again in the sunshine of the spirit.

Along the way, I’ll share with you some of the things I’ve learned in my own journey from successful lawyer, to prescription opioid addict, white collar crime, suicide attempt, disbarment, destruction of my marriage, and the almost 14 months I served in a Federal prison. And also my recovery, love story I share with my wife Lynn Springer, after prison earning a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in NYC, pastoring in an inner city church in Bridgeport CT, and then co-founding with Lynn in Greenwich CT, Progressive Prison Ministries, the world’s first ministry serving the white collar justice community. It’s been quite a ride, but I firmly believe that the best is yet to come.

So I invite you to come along with me as we experience something new, and bold, and different this summer – a podcast that serves the entire white collar justice community. I hope you will join me.

Blessings, לשלום

Jeff

Rev. Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div. (he, him, his) 
Co-founder, Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc., Greenwich CT & Nationwide
Co-host, The Criminal Justice Insider Podcast
Host, White Collar Week
Mailing: P.O. Box 1, Woodbury, CT 06798
Website: prisonist.org
Email: jgrant@prisonist.org
Office: 203-405-6249
Donations (501c3): http://bit.ly/donate35T9kMZ
Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/jeff-grant-woodbury-ct/731344
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/revjeffgrant
not a prison coach, not a prison consultant

_________________________

Thank you for listening to White Collar Week.

Please subscribe, rate and review the podcast if you loved it – it helps others suffering in silence find us if they need us!

_________________________

Follow White Collar Week on Social:

Web: https://prisonist.org/white-collar-week

Facebook: https://facebook.com/whitecollarweek

Twitter: https://twitter.com/whitecollarweek

Instagram: https://instagram.com/whitecollarweek

LinkedIn: https://linkedin/whitecollarweek

_________________________

Follow Jeff Grant on Social:

Web: https://prisonist.org

Facebook: https://Facebook.com/revjeffgrant

Twitter: https://twitter.com/revjeffgrant

Instagram: https://instagram.com/revjeffgrant

LinkedIn: https://linkedin/revjeffgrant

_________________________

Want to be a guest on the Show? Have a connection you’d like to make?

Email us! info@prisonist.org

_________________________

Credits:

Host: Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div.

Audio Engineering: George Antonios: https://georgeantonios.com

Video Engineering: Todd Nixon

Art Direction: Greyskye Marketing, LLC: https://greyskye.com

_________________________

Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. is the world’s first ministry supporting the white collar justice community. Founded by husband and wife, Jeff Grant and Lynn Springer in Greenwich CT in 2012, we incorporated as a nonprofit in Connecticut in 2014, and received 501(c)(3) status in 2015.  Jeff has over three decades of experience in crisis management, business, law (former), reentry, recovery (clean & sober 17+ years), and executive and religious leadership. As Jeff was incarcerated for a white-collar crime he committed in 2001, he and Lynn have a first-hand perspective on the trials and tribulations that white-collar families have to endure as they navigate the criminal justice system and life beyond.

Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. is nonsectarian, serving those of all faiths, or no faith whatsoever. To date we have helped over three hundred fifty (350) individuals, and their families, to accept responsibility for their actions and to acknowledge the pain they have caused to others.  In accordance with our commitment to restorative justice, we counsel our members to make amends as a first step in changing their lives and moving towards a new spiritual way of living centered on hope, care, compassion, tolerance, empathy and service to others. Our team has grown to over ten people, most with advanced degrees, all of whom are currently volunteering their time and resources.

Progressive Prison Ministries’ goal is to provide spiritual solutions and emotional support to those who are feeling alone, isolated, and hopeless. We have found that these individuals are suffering from a void but are stuck, and don’t know what to do about it. Our objective is to help them find a path to a healthy, spirit-filled place on the other side of what may seem like insurmountable problems. Many of those we counsel are in a place where their previous lives have come to an end due to their transgressions. In many cases their legal problems have led to divorce, estrangement from their children, families, friends and support communities, and loss of a career. The toll this takes on individuals and families is emotionally devastating. White-collar crimes are often precipitated by other issues in the offenders’ lives such as alcohol or drug abuse, and/or a physical or mental illness that lead to financial issues that overwhelms their ability to be present for themselves and their families and cause poor decision making. We recognize that life often presents us with such circumstances, sometimes which lead us to make mistakes in violation of the law.

All conversations and communications between our ordained ministry, and licensed clinical relationships, and those we serve fall under state privilege laws. This is one reason that attorneys often allow and encourage their clients to maintain relationships with us while in active prosecution or litigation situations.

If you, a friend, family member, colleague or client are suffering from a white collar criminal justice issue or are experiencing some other traumatic or life-altering event, and would like to find a path to a healthy, spirit-filled place on the other side of what seems like insurmountable problems, please contact us to schedule an initial call or appointment.

Copyright 2020, All Rights Reserved, Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc.

TEDxNorthAdams: Craig Stanland: How I Learned My Greatest Worth in Prison, A White Collar Story

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Craig Stanland is a member of our White Collar Support Group that meets online on Zoom on Monday evenings, 7:00 pm ET, 6:00 pm CT, 5:00 pm MT, 4:00 pm PT. We celebrated our 200th consecutive weekly online meeting on Monday, April 13, 2020.

___________________

October 1st, 2013

You have one unheard voicemail.

“Mr. Stanland, this is special agent McTiernan with the FBI. We are at your residence and have a warrant for your arrest. You will need to call us and come home immediately, or we will issue an APB with the Federal Marshall’s for your arrest.”

This is how my journey began.

For just under a year, I committed fraud against one of the largest technology companies in the world. I discovered a loophole in their warranty policy and exploited it for my financial gain. 

Read more below…

 

I was already by most standard definitions, successful. I owned a few homes, beautiful cars, expensive watches. I was a VIP at some of the best restaurants in Greenwich and Manhattan. 

I was married to an incredible and amazing woman. 

I did not need to do what I did.  

But, I was not worthy of my amazing wife. I was not worthy of my success. I was not enough, and I was empty. 

Unworthiness and emptiness transformed into greed. 

I knew what I was doing was wrong; the voice inside told me not to do it. It begged and pleaded, and I ignored it, burying my head in the sand.

Drinking to excess and buying everything I could get my hands on in a desperate attempt to fill that void. I was too blind to see I was trying to fill a broken glass.   

I plead guilty to one count of mail fraud, received a twenty-four-month sentence, three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay restitution. 

I lost everything: my homes, my career, my cars, my watches. 

I lied to my wife and told her what I was doing was “OK.”

I broke trust in our marriage, and she left me. 

Who I was as a person had become so inextricably tied to my things and my ability to purchase those things that without them, I had no idea who I was. 

I had no identity other than being the man who blew up his life and the life of the woman he loves. 

Any sense of self-worth, which was shaky to begin to, had vanished. 

I was fortunate. I was assigned to Otisville Federal Prison Camp. My safety was never a concern, and all things considered, it was actually a pretty setting. 

Picnic tables surrounded by nature and wildlife. The deer would almost eat out of my hands. The goose with the broken wing did eat out of my hands. My fellow inmates were some of the most interesting people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. 

But the mind is a prison we cannot escape. 

Shame cast its long shadow over me, and soon, I was consumed. I couldn’t break free from its suffocating grip.  

Shame for the hell I know my wife is experiencing. She was working fourteen-hour back-breaking days, just to keep a roof over her head and food in the fridge. 

The pain I hear in her voice when we speak, it’s raw and visceral. It’s the most authentic expression of suffering from someone who’s been hurt more than they knew it was possible to hurt. 

To often we are hurt the most by the people we love the most. 

Shame for the arrogance I displayed with my family and friends. Shame for not listening to the voice in my heart.

That voice is gone, I ignored it for too long, and it has abandoned me. 

Shame for who I had become. Shame for being blind to what truly matters to me. Shame for understanding too late that it’s not things. It’s not money or job titles. 

Sometimes the most beautiful things in life are, at their core, simple.   

Love. Family. Friends. Joy. Experiences. Creativity. Honesty. Integrity. Time. Freedom.

With every thought wrapped in shame, my monkey mind created the vision of what my suicide would look like. 

I’m in a dark, dingy basement, pistol in my mouth, I pull the trigger, pieces of brain and skull plaster the wall behind me.  

My mind played this image over and over on a perpetual loop for four months straight. 

Every night, just after the ten o’clock count, as I rested my head on the pillow, I would pray. To anyone or anything who would listen, 

“Why won’t it stop? Why won’t it stop? Please make it fucking stop……”

Begging and pleading. Each night the same prayer, and every morning the same disappointment when the light of a new day kissed my eyes. 

Four months of unanswered prayers. 

I smiled and pretended, everything was OK. I was afraid to share with anyone what I was feeling. Rumors were swirling around about what happens to inmates who speak of suicide. Solitary confinement, getting shipped out to a mental facility. 

I bottled it up and kept it in. The tighter I closed the lid, the more the pain grew. 

This was when I began planning how I would kill myself. This is the power of shame. This was my rock-bottom. 

A well-timed, out of the blue, visit from my best friend of thirty years turned everything around in an instant. 

Sean showed me I had worth, outside of what I had always believed made me worthy. I was not my property or possessions. 

My value, my worth, was in being a friend, and nothing more. 

It was from this day on that I began to rebuild and reinvent my life. 

I guess my prayers were answered. Fortunately, not the way I was asking for. 

It’s been six years of rebuilding and reinventing. Ups and downs. Disappointments and failures and massive successes. 

My life is no longer tied to my things or my ability to purchase those things. 

It is built on a foundation of:  

I am enough. I am worthy. I love myself. I trust myself. I accept myself, truly, deeply, and unconditionally. 

I live in a state of abundance and gratitude. 

When we have a foundation rooted in these, we no longer need anything outside of ourselves to feel whole. 

We are whole. 

My term of supervised release ended on May 9th, 2019. About a month afterward, I was asked a question. 

“If you had an opportunity to change your life, to do things differently, would you?”

I thought about it—the pain, the suffering, the shame, consumed by the vision of killing myself. 

My response came from deep within, from the truest expression of myself,  

“There is not enough money in the world for me to change a thing. I am exactly where I am meant to be, doing what I am meant to be doing. This has turned into the greatest gift I have ever received.” 

I am free. 

My mission now is to help people whose lives have fallen apart rebuild and reinvent their lives.  

I’m a Reinvention Architect. I help my clients start over so they can have the extraordinary life they’ve always wanted.

I offer a free Start Over Strategy Session. On this call, we’ll identify what an extraordinary life for you looks like and uncover challenges that are holding you back from reinventing your life. 

You’ll leave this call with actionable next steps to start rebuilding and reinventing your extraordinary life now. 

If you’re interested, schedule the call here.

I’d be honored if you watched my TEDx. If it resonates with you, can you please share it with someone you think may need to hear it? 

A huge thank you to Jeff and the Progressive Prison Ministries for all the support pre and post-prison and for this opportunity to share. 

To have a safe place in a time of uncertainty is a blessing. 

Craig
Author+Speaker+Reinvention Architect

A Morning Practice with The Nantucket Project: Jeff Grant joins Simon Greer and Tom Scott in Conversation About the Power of the Mind, Thought Leaders and Motives, Weds., April 22, 2020

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Watch on YouTube:

 

 

Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div. is an ordained minister with over three decades of experience in crisis management, business, law, reentry, recovery (clean & sober 17+ years), and executive & religious leadership. Sometimes referred to in the press as “The Minister to Hedge Funders,” he uses his experience and background to guide people faithfully forward in their lives, relationships, careers and business opportunities, and to help them to stop making the kinds of decisions that previously resulted in loss, suffering and shame. Jeff is the Co-Founder of Progressive Prison Ministries, the world’s first ministry serving the white collar justice community. It hosts a White Collar Support Group online on Zoom on Monday evenings, 7 pm ET, 6 pm CT, 5 pm MT, 4 pm PT. The group marked its milestone 200th weekly online meeting on Mon., April 13th. Jeff can be reached at prisonist.org,  jgrant@prisonist.org.

The Search for Hope & Purpose During Pandemic, by Rev. Fr. Joseph Ciccone

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Rev. Fr Joseph Ciccone, is Pastor of Saint Joseph Mission Progressive Catholic Church, Cliffside Park NJ. Please join Father Joe as he holds a Prayers of Hope service from St. Joseph’s Mission Church, Daily at 1 pm ET: https://www.facebook.com/saintjosephmissionchurch/.  Father Joe is a member of our White Collar Support Group that meets online on Zoom on Monday evenings.

____________________

 
I have been a helper all my life, a cop for 20 years, and a teacher and college professor for another 20 years as well. Now I am a Progressive Catholic Priest, bringing the Gospel to those in the margins. Our ministry tries to help those who are lost, broken, and have been rejected by traditional religion and sometimes even thrown away by society itself. Even through all the ups and downs (and there were many) I loved going to work every single day and still do. Oddly, especially during challenging and difficult times, I felt most called and even excited about being out there making a difference. Clearly one of the most poignant times was the AIDS epidemic when I was a first responder through that entire period. I always felt I had the best and one of the more important jobs ever. I was scared, but never wavered during that time of being in my twenties and thinking I was invincible.  Although a lot changed in my life and a call to service came crashing down in 2001 along with the World Trade Center which gave me the ability to start anew. Seminary would happen a few years later and now doing ministry that I hope is a true and powerful call and to really be of service to others has been a great blessing that I will be forever grateful for.
But this pandemic seems different. Maybe it is because I am older, have two of the high-risk factors, heart condition and diabetes. Plus, I am the sole caregiver for my special needs sister, after the death of our mother 3 years ago.  I have always been a fearless, relentless social justice advocate fighting to make the world a better place.  Now I am a social distant observer, fearful witness to a world that seems to be falling apart and I am lost. I know I am not alone as millions of Americans have lost their jobs and purpose.  Countless people worldwide are in lock down. Italians are no longer singing from their Terraces and I would venture to say that almost everyone is lost and afraid.
After a quiet dinner with my sister last night, I suggested we go outside to the front porch to watch the sun starting to set.  As we stepped out the UPS person had just dropped off a package. God bless those wonderful essential workers. It was a box of fresh Palms that were supposed to be given out for Palm Sunday this weekend, that will never be used to bless the world now. He had run back into his truck and I can hear him yell to me to call 911 “Hey! A blind man just fell and he is hurt – do you know him?”  My sister was going to jump into action, and started to run down the stairs and I stopped her.  “No, Nancy you stay here” and  I moved toward him and watched him get up. He had a cut on his chin that was bleeding but seemed okay.  I recognized him from the block.  He is young man that I often say hello to. Sadly, I do not even know his name.  I have spoken to his caregiver who helps him to be very active and independent.  “Can I help you get home?” I called out. He yelled back, “No! No! Stay away from me.” To be honest, I was glad he said that because I was afraid to. We called his caregiver and all turned out okay. But I knew I didn’t do enough….and it broke my heart.
I had trouble sleeping last night and scrolling endlessly through social media I read a post from a colleague I have a great deal of respect for. Father Mike, another independent Catholic priest, operates a food truck for the hungry and a homeless shelter.  He is one of my “priest heroes” long before this terrible time. His post hit a nerve, “All of the Clergy hiding in their rectories and behind cameras should be banned from ever preaching about the Martyrs and the Church Fathers ever again! You can still serve while maintaining social distancing and safe practices! Jesus Weeps.” It hit home because every day I am broadcasting a “Prayers during Pandemic”  service LIVE to help give a message of hope. I added a comment about judging others, clearly I should be listening to my own words.  Maybe Father Mike is right. We need to do more, we need to have more purpose, we need to use this time of world pause to help each other, and of course doing so safely. This can be the time to help our Earth heal and be better for not only tomorrow but for generations to come.  But most importantly, we need to find the blessings that are hidden in these dreadful times and find those blessings that are right before us as Spring comes to the world and we must look to this re-birth of ourselves during these most challenging and quiet days. It seems the Earth is starting to heal and I just hope that all of us can do so as well. 
As those palms that were delivered yesterday symbolize Jesus returning to Jerusalem after those 40 days of prayer, isolated and alone, in the desert, we too can use this time to pray and reflect. Although those palms may not physically reach the faithful this year, they will spiritually and wait patiently for Ash Wednesday next year, to be burned and start anew. Further confirmation that there is hope that the world and life will go on.
May God protect and love you all+ 

Rev. Dr. Joseph Ciccone a Priest in the Order of Franciscan Servants and a graduate of Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York with a Master of Divinity Degree in Ministry and Pastoral Care. Here is currently assigned to Saint Joseph Mission Church, bringing the Gospel to those in the margins and to people in need wherever they may be. I have also been a Chapel Minister at Saint James Chapel at Union Seminary and specialize in traditional and non-traditional Catholic, Christian and Interfaith ceremonies. Our Mission on the Move began in New Jersey in 2016, thus far we have married nearly 400 couples, Baptized so many of the children and some of the couples we have married. We make countless hospital visits and give the anointing of the sick, bring the sacraments to the home bound, the lost and broken and those who needs Gods love but have been hurt by the traditional church. 

 

Prayers During the Pandemic: March 23, 2020

 

The Search for Hope & Purpose During Pandemic, by Rev. Fr. Joseph Ciccone

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Rev. Fr Joseph Ciccone, is Pastor of Saint Joseph Mission Progressive Catholic Church, Cliffside Park NJ. Please join Father Joe as he holds a Prayers of Hope service from St. Joseph’s Mission Church, Daily at 1 pm ET: https://www.facebook.com/saintjosephmissionchurch/.  Father Joe is a member of our White Collar Support Group that meets online on Zoom on Monday evenings.

____________________

 

I have been a helper all my life, a cop for 20 years, and a teacher and college professor for another 20 years as well. Now I am a Progressive Catholic Priest, bringing the Gospel to those in the margins. Our ministry tries to help those who are lost, broken, and have been rejected by traditional religion and sometimes even thrown away by society itself. Even through all the ups and downs (and there were many) I loved going to work every single day and still do. Oddly, especially during challenging and difficult times, I felt most called and even excited about being out there making a difference. Clearly one of the most poignant times was the AIDS epidemic when I was a first responder through that entire period. I always felt I had the best and one of the more important jobs ever. I was scared, but never wavered during that time of being in my twenties and thinking I was invincible.  Although a lot changed in my life and a call to service came crashing down in 2001 along with the World Trade Center which gave me the ability to start anew. Seminary would happen a few years later and now doing ministry that I hope is a true and powerful call and to really be of service to others has been a great blessing that I will be forever grateful for.

But this pandemic seems different. Maybe it is because I am older, have two of the high-risk factors, heart condition and diabetes. Plus, I am the sole caregiver for my special needs sister, after the death of our mother 3 years ago.  I have always been a fearless, relentless social justice advocate fighting to make the world a better place.  Now I am a social distant observer, fearful witness to a world that seems to be falling apart and I am lost. I know I am not alone as millions of Americans have lost their jobs and purpose.  Countless people worldwide are in lock down. Italians are no longer singing from their Terraces and I would venture to say that almost everyone is lost and afraid.

After a quiet dinner with my sister last night, I suggested we go outside to the front porch to watch the sun starting to set.  As we stepped out the UPS person had just dropped off a package. God bless those wonderful essential workers. It was a box of fresh Palms that were supposed to be given out for Palm Sunday this weekend, that will never be used to bless the world now. He had run back into his truck and I can hear him yell to me to call 911 “Hey! A blind man just fell and he is hurt – do you know him?”  My sister was going to jump into action, and started to run down the stairs and I stopped her.  “No, Nancy you stay here” and  I moved toward him and watched him get up. He had a cut on his chin that was bleeding but seemed okay.  I recognized him from the block.  He is young man that I often say hello to. Sadly, I do not even know his name.  I have spoken to his caregiver who helps him to be very active and independent.  “Can I help you get home?” I called out. He yelled back, “No! No! Stay away from me.” To be honest, I was glad he said that because I was afraid to. We called his caregiver and all turned out okay. But I knew I didn’t do enough….and it broke my heart.

I had trouble sleeping last night and scrolling endlessly through social media I read a post from a colleague I have a great deal of respect for. Father Mike, another independent Catholic priest, operates a food truck for the hungry and a homeless shelter.  He is one of my “priest heroes” long before this terrible time. His post hit a nerve, “All of the Clergy hiding in their rectories and behind cameras should be banned from ever preaching about the Martyrs and the Church Fathers ever again! You can still serve while maintaining social distancing and safe practices! Jesus Weeps.” It hit home because every day I am broadcasting a “Prayers during Pandemic”  service LIVE to help give a message of hope. I added a comment about judging others, clearly I should be listening to my own words.  Maybe Father Mike is right. We need to do more, we need to have more purpose, we need to use this time of world pause to help each other, and of course doing so safely. This can be the time to help our Earth heal and be better for not only tomorrow but for generations to come.  But most importantly, we need to find the blessings that are hidden in these dreadful times and find those blessings that are right before us as Spring comes to the world and we must look to this re-birth of ourselves during these most challenging and quiet days. It seems the Earth is starting to heal and I just hope that all of us can do so as well. 

As those palms that were delivered yesterday symbolize Jesus returning to Jerusalem after those 40 days of prayer, isolated and alone, in the desert, we too can use this time to pray and reflect. Although those palms may not physically reach the faithful this year, they will spiritually and wait patiently for Ash Wednesday next year, to be burned and start anew. Further confirmation that there is hope that the world and life will go on.

May God protect and love you all+ 

Rev. Dr. Joseph Ciccone a Priest in the Order of Franciscan Servants and a graduate of Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York with a Master of Divinity Degree in Ministry and Pastoral Care. Here is currently assigned to Saint Joseph Mission Church, bringing the Gospel to those in the margins and to people in need wherever they may be. I have also been a Chapel Minister at Saint James Chapel at Union Seminary and specialize in traditional and non-traditional Catholic, Christian and Interfaith ceremonies. Our Mission on the Move began in New Jersey in 2016, thus far we have married nearly 400 couples, Baptized so many of the children and some of the couples we have married. We make countless hospital visits and give the anointing of the sick, bring the sacraments to the home bound, the lost and broken and those who needs Gods love but have been hurt by the traditional church. 

 

Prayers During the Pandemic: March 23, 2020

 

White Collar Support Group: From Police to Priest Podcast: Father Joseph Ciccone Talks About His Journey with Father Rix Thorsell

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   Father Joe Ciccone and Father Rix Thorsell are members of our White Collar Support Group that meets online on Zoom on Monday evenings. Please join Father Joe as he holds a Prayers of Hope service from St. Joseph’s Mission Church, Daily at 1 pm ET: https://www.facebook.com/saintjosephmissionchurch/.

Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. is the world’s first ministry supporting the white collar criminal justice/economy exiled community. It hosts a White Collar Support Group meeting online on Zoom every Monday at 7:00 pm ET, 6:00 pm CT, 5:00 pm MT, 4:00 pm PT, information here. We will be hosting our 200th consecutive weekly meeting online on Monday, April 13, 2020.

____________________

From Police to Priest (FP2P) is a new podcast from Saint Joseph Mission Church!

Hosted by Dr. Joseph Ciccone and Father Rix Thorsell, Union Theological Seminary classmates (M.Div. ’13), From Police to Priest explores Father Joe’s unique and fascinating journey from numerous decades of law enforcement to a new decade of ministry. 

Every Sunday, Fr. Joe and Fr. Rix release a new episode talking about the interesting, and sometimes terrifying, experiences that get into the deep valleys that we all go through at one point or another. 

From those moments of mistakes or sin, From Police to Priest acknowledges the darkness around us, and then tries to find hope and redemption from each incredible story told.

It’s a unique experience that can shed insight into the depths of human suffering and how every one of us can find that light to overcome the night. Entertaining and informative, From Police to Priest gives a ray of hope in the face of hopelessness, and we hope you are able to join the growing community across the country tuning in every week.

Links to our podcast platforms (please remember every review helps get the word out!):

Podbean (our host site): https://police2priest.podbean.com/ |
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3a7bHecWAsFAv17PCJVTwI |  
Itunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/from-police-to-priest-fp2p/id1488164625 |  
Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/m/Idyy2pwdjjn3r5eqmkxb4tm7fgy?t=From_Police_to_Priest_FP2P  |  
ListenNotes: https://listennotes.com/podcasts/from-police-to-priest-fp2p-police2priest-f0n6oqLzwxu/  |
Castbox: https://castbox.fm/channel/From-Police-to-Priest-(FP2P)-id2465059?country=us |

Father Joseph Ciccone and Father Rix Thorsell

Jeff Grant on The Same 24 Hours Podcast with Meredith Atwood, Ep. 186: When to Move in a Time of Stuck

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Meredith Atwood, Author & Speaker: I don’t have tons of money to donate. I don’t have genius smarts to contribute to science or financial wisdom in this time of crisis. ⁠
⁠
👉But I have a podcast, a book and a small platform to extend to anyone who is feeling rocked, lonely, sad or stuck.❤️⁠
⁠
I am here. 😊 That is what I (and so may others) are trying to do during this time. Reach out, give time, energy, kindness and a safe place where people can come to SEE others (via Zoom: the Daily Community Meeting: swimbikemom.com/meet), or listening to comforting words: The Same 24 Hours Podcast (always available via your favorite podcast app, or https://pod.link/775943089). ⁠
⁠
☀️This morning, I spoke with my friend, Jeff Grant Rev. Jeff Grant – who I met last year after he was a guest on Rich Roll’s podcast. Jeff was a guest on my pod (Episode 112), and we have essentially become friends. ⁠

Link to Podcast: https://bit.ly/33qYBc0
⁠
I value this man’s work, story, and heart SO MUCH. I am glad to hear his comforting words, wisdom and insight during this time.⁠
⁠
About Jeff: ⁠ Jeff is an ordained minister with over three decades of experience in crisis management, business, law, reentry, recovery (clean & sober 16+ years), and executive & religious leadership. After an addiction to prescription opioids and serving almost fourteen months in a Federal prison for a white-collar crime he committed when he was a lawyer, Jeff started his own reentry – earning a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary.⁠
⁠
He, and his wife and partner-in-ministry Lynn Springer, then co-founded Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. (Greenwich, CT), the first ministry in the United States created to provide confidential support and pastoral care to individuals, families and organizations with white-collar and other nonviolent incarceration issues.⁠

Follow Jeff:⁠
Website: prisonist.org
Facebook.com/revjeffgrant
Instagram: @RevJeffGrant

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