December 1999

 

 

Dear Saints,

 

This fall, we opened up 18 new campuses, 20 new churches, while revisiting several churches that we had not been to in over 10 years.

 

Six years ago I was arrested at Bridgewater State College in Bridgewater, Mass. by some of the most corrupt police officers that I have ever encountered, for example, they stole my cassette tapes while I was in custody.  John Reinstein, the State Legal Director for the Massachusetts ACLU was my attorney, and on the day of the trial the Judge threw it out of Court.

 

I returned this past October, for the first time since my arrest six years ago, to Bridgewater State College and found the police most hospitable, even to the extent that I had up to 6 or 7 officers protecting me at any given time.  One officer talked to me in private, telling me that he was impressed by my ability to control a hostile crowd, and asked me for advise on how he could do a better job of it.  Afterwards, a College Professor interviewed me for her speech class.

 

Feeling triumphant, as well as, vindicated, I decided to open up another brand new campus, Framingham State College.  The Framingham State College Security kicked me off campus in ten minutes flat, so I continued preaching on the public sidewalk, only to be met, twenty minutes later, by 6 or 7 Framingham City squad cars with sirens a blaring.

 

At first, an officer told me to leave because the College did not want me on their property.  After I drew his attention to the fact that I was not on campus property, he then ordered me off the public sidewalk, to which I refused and was placed under arrest for the 28th time.

 

After smiling for my mug shot, I was placed in an 8 ft. square concrete holding cell.  I had requested my Bible.  Then I did something that I had never done before while in custody.  I felt impressed of the Lord to SING LOUDLY.  So I started in Psalms chapter one and paged through, singing any verse that I knew a tune to.  I did this until I ended at Psalm 150. After Psalms, I sang any hymn, chorus and Christmas song that I could think of.  The entire cellblock was made of concrete, with my voice in great shape, I resounded throughout the entire cellblock.  The acoustics were so great that it sounded like I had monitors in my cell, thus causing my ears to ring.  I kept this up for the entire three hours that I was detained.

 

During those three hours the jailers started running a vacuum cleaner over the concrete floor in order to drown me out.  They stopped vacuuming in less than five minutes, because the combined noise of my singing and that of the vacuum cleaner was worse than that of my voice alone.  The jailers tried closing a big steel door, but soon reopened it, five minutes later.

 

After about three hours of loud, continual, singing, I heard a door open and close, then one of the jailers screamed, "GET HIM OUT OF HERE, BOND HIM OUT NOW, I DO NOT CARE WHAT IT TAKES, JUST GET HIM OUT OF HERE!!!!”  I figured that my bondman had arrived, and sure enough, I was out in less than ten minutes.

 

The Lord was blessing me the entire time that I was singing.  Talk about guerilla warfare tactics.  My wife is just glad that she was not around to see and hear this one.

 

When I went back to the Mass. ACLU office, the Director cordially greeted me with the words, “Mr. Gilles, are you staying out of trouble these days?”  To which I responded, “No, and you know that is why I am here.”  The ACLU is currently handling the case as I type this newsletter.

 

We thank you for your love and prayers.

 

Brother Jim - Sister Bonnie - Aaron - Gabrielle