Lettie Carr graduated from Smith College and the University of Michigan before rising quickly at a Washington law firm. But about 16 years ago, she left that life behind to follow one of Jesus’ most unheeded calls — to visit the prisoner. Today, the 50-year-old Carr is the chaplain at the Maryland Correctional Institute for Women. She spoke with The Washington Examiner about the God who called her to an unlikely career, and her daily task of loving as God loves. Do you consider yourself to be of a specific faith?
I am a Christian. I am drawn to the faith by my relationship with God, so that whatever else is going on in my life, I can depend on God to see me through it. I came to know the Lord as a young person in my home church. Growing up, it was like, “That’s Mama’s God, so you follow.” But as I grew older, I began to know God for myself. The turning point came when I began attending Parkway Baptist Church in District Heights, Md., then under Bishop David T.P. Perrin. It was there I learned to serve God with my whole life, to listen for his voice, to understand him as a living, breathing God on a day-to-day basis.
You work more than most people with sin, and with redemption. For those who feel truly redeemed, what does it take to get there?
For most people who’ve committed a crime, the first thing they have to understand is the notion that God would even want to forgive them — most people struggle in that capacity for a bit. But if we look at the Bible, it tells us that if we confess our sins, then God is just, and God forgives. I try to help people to understand that God’s grace is bigger than our sin. The Scripture clearly says that where sin abounds, grace more abounds.
And at some level it’s about pride — most people who’ve done something wrong never thought they’d stoop so low. We have a hard time forgiving ourselves because we are so disappointed with ourselves. But if God can forgive us, then we must forgive ourselves — or we are saying that our standard is higher than his. We are all sinners who need redemption. We must humble ourselves and admit that to receive God’s grace.
At the same time, you must deal with a lot of anger and hopelessness. How do you find your way through that?
There are a lot of things you deal with — emotional problems, psychological problems, and there’s spiritual warfare to face. It’d be easy to become embittered and pessimistic. The most important thing is that I know God called me here. It’s not just a job — God had to convince me that it was his will. I know that God loves everyone, and he gives me a love for them through his love.
What kind of responsibility do members of society, and people of faith, have to prisoners and ex-offenders?
There’s a major mental health epidemic in our communities that we’re not dealing with. Some people say, “They’re insane — we’ll never reach them.” Well, I’m not a psychiatrist, but I’ve seen people turn their lives around. I’m the only full-time chaplain here, for 800 women. One responsibility is recognizing the value of that kind of service.
We also know that in biblical terms, what we do to the least of them, we do to Him. Jesus challenges us to visit those in prison — that’s in Matthew 25, that’s his mandate. And when they come home, we as congregations have to be there to welcome them, to be the good Samaritans, to help them reintegrate into society.
At your core, what is one of your defining beliefs?
Certainly one of the most important things for me to remember is that but for the grace of God, any of us could be here. I believe not to judge, but to love, because that’s what Christ did for us. As a woman of God, and a child of God, I believe my challenge is to love those whom others would shun. That’s what Jesus does for all of us.
– Leah Fabel
