Born and raised in Atlantic Canada, John is committed to shining light and cultivating peace in his community, whether by keeping Christmas lights illuminated all year round, mentoring, or lending a helping hand during a snowstorm. Guided by the understanding that harm impacts a community and by the principle that people do not heal in isolation, John uses his lived experience of incarceration to stand in solidarity with the forsaken and forgotten, to hold hope, share joy, cultivate courage, and speak the truth that we are all, no matter our past, beloved children of a loving God, called to walk in His redeeming light.
In this interview, we had the pleasure of speaking with John, a man who is committed to using his lived experience of incarceration to tangibly help others hold onto hope and choose light. He speaks of his own journey in practical language: naming the grief over harm caused, lamenting over personal consequences, and recounting the compassion he experienced from God and others. John’s words ring with the will to hope and joy. His belief that healing takes place when we recognize our failings and actively seek the help of our sisters and brothers applies not only to his own personal transformation but also to the transformational journey he accompanies others on. We hope that John’s down-to-earth words and life itself illuminate hearts and minds to see people as more than the sum of their mistakes, but rather in the light of God’s redeeming purposes.
[You will notice that the sound of this audio is not studio quality; in some ways, this reflects John’s approach to life itself: embracing present reality over striving for future perfection.]