At 83, Jim Lynn says he doesn’t plan to retire anytime soon.
“I have spoken with over fifty men convicted for the death of another,” said Lynn. He’s been the padre at North Slave Correctional Complex for the last 20 years.
“I have a life sentence, too,” he laughed.
From 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. each weekday, Lynn is at the prison: available to speak to inmates who can schedule a sit down with him.
“We sit down and I counsel them and let them share their stories,” he said. “I give them encouragement and support.”
Lynn says they always share a sacred scripture reading and a prayer.
Now on Fridays, for one small group at a time, he selects and shows a movie for the inmates.
Recently, they watched ‘Three Feathers’, a film about restorative justice told through three young Dene men from the NWT who have committed a crime and are sentenced by a traditional sentencing circle.
Lynn was ordained in the Catholic faith in 1963 but works with inmates of all faiths.
There are about 57 inmates at the North Slave facility now, Lynn said.
Lynn helps facilitate a pen-pal-writing program that connects longer-term inmates with Christian friends.
For the second half of the day, he works as archivist for the diocese, helping people piece together their family history.
“As long as I’m able to get around and move and got my wits about me. And my drivers licence,” said Lynn who spends an hour on a stationary bike each evening. In the summertime during the day, he clocks 20 kilometers on his bike outside.
We asked, what has kept him going all these years?
Lynn doesn’t miss a beat, answering, “The love of the Lord.”