These members of the Contemplative Fellowship stand out in the prison setting. The group was growing. It was at a critical point. In prison, the code that governs inmate to inmate relations is as rigid as it is inhumane. In the yard, Whites don t mix with Blacks, neither mixes with Hispanics who themselves are divided into four distinct gangs, each with its own rules.
Territory is defined, and boundaries are inviolable.
Men here learn this very quickly. But Contemplative Fellowship seemed immune to these distinctions. Everyone wanted in. And in an unprecedented gathering of the gang leaders, held in the chapel, the Fellowship lifers asked that the Centering Prayer meeting on Friday nights be ruled neutral turf, allowing anyone in who wanted in. The gang leaders said yes.