On Tuesday, June 25, 2013, Monty Lewis, founder of Bridges of Canada, friend and former COPE’s Board of Directors’ member, finished his race and joined that great cloud of witnesses.

Monty’s compelling life story began in the hole of a prison cell nearly thirty years ago but it didn’t end there. He spent half of his life building a ministry that touched the lives of thousands of incarcerated men and women and their children. Through the years, he carried out his vision to reach the least, the lost and the lonely by establishing programs such as BarNone Christian Camp, the annual Christmas for Kids Campaign, the Victory Centre, various Chaplaincy Programs and Prison Ministry. Monty’s life story, The Caper, is available in both English and French. God Still Speaks was published in 2012.

Richard Bragdon, Vice President of Bridges of Canada, reflects on Monty’s legacy with deep admiration and respect. “Monty possessed the ability to see the best in people. He believed within every human being exists the capacity to change and he spent a great deal of his life, after his own incarceration experience, reaching out to those within one of society’s most marginalized populations.”

To Lynda Lewis, the Lewis family and to the Bridges of Canada family, COPE, and WVIW extend our love and heartfelt sympathies.