Prison Ministry Web Sites

[serendipity]

Good Morning,

I have not posted on this site in a very long time. Please forgive me if I am repeating a previous thread, but I looked and didn’t see exactly this topic.

I am in the process of beginning volunteer work in prison ministry. We (me and the Catholic Charities volunteer coordinator) are waiting to hear acceptance form one of two possibilities. One woudl be working in a juvenile detention facility. The other would be teaching basic catechism to women. There are no Catholic chaplains in the diocese of Arlington (VA) and it takes a while to get permission to work in the system. Some times permission is not granted.

I have a background in teaching religious education (RE - formerly known as CCD) to fifth and sixth graders, working with youth groups, and faciliating discussions for the Inquiry portion of the RCIA program. I enjoy studying and exploring my faith and have an active prayer life, inluding spiritual director.

However, I have never known any one in prison or who does this type of volunter work. My impression is that the jail/prison system is anti-Catholic and there is a lot of misnformation districuted about Catholic, based on personal anecdotes from the prison volunteer coordinator.

Can any one recommend recommend webs ites with reources on prisony ministry from a Catholic perspective? And has any one read a book on prison ministry from a Catholic perspective that they found particularly insightful?

Peace and Goodwill.

 

[Tepeyac]

Take a look at this website: Partners in Evangelism. They began as a ministry to Catholics in prison and they continue working in that area, see: Ministry to Prisoners . Maybe you’ll find something useful there. It’s sponsored by the people who publish The Word Among Us. They’ve had articles on prison ministry and evangelism in the past. If you have the time search through their back issues and see if those articles are posted online. I hope this helps and good luck with your work

 

[Bruised_Reed]

Good Morning,

I have not posted on this site in a very long time. Please forgive me if I am repeating a previous thread, but I looked and didn’t see exactly this topic.

I am in the process of beginning volunteer work in prison ministry. We (me and the Catholic Charities volunteer coordinator) are waiting to hear acceptance form one of two possibilities. One woudl be working in a juvenile detention facility. The other would be teaching basic catechism to women. There are no Catholic chaplains in the diocese of Arlington (VA) and it takes a while to get permission to work in the system. Some times permission is not granted.

I have a background in teaching religious education (RE - formerly known as CCD) to fifth and sixth graders, working with youth groups, and faciliating discussions for the Inquiry portion of the RCIA program. I enjoy studying and exploring my faith and have an active prayer life, inluding spiritual director.

However, I have never known any one in prison or who does this type of volunter work. My impression is that the jail/prison system is anti-Catholic and there is a lot of misnformation districuted about Catholic, based on personal anecdotes from the prison volunteer coordinator.

Can any one recommend recommend webs ites with reources on prisony ministry from a Catholic perspective? And has any one read a book on prison ministry from a Catholic perspective that they found particularly insightful?

Peace and Goodwill.

Here’s another website Kairos Prison Ministry It’s not exclusively Catholic but is kind of an outreach of Cursillo (Catholic and other). When I lived in VA the church I went to had Cookies for Kairos weekends when parishioners could bring cookies to the church for the prison ministry. The collected magazines too.

 

[Tepeyac]

I came across a few other links. The Paulists have a prison outreach: PNCEA Prison Ministries. There are a bunch of other evangelization links there too. There was an older thread on the boards that has a bunch of links and addresses if you read through it: Prison Ministry. The Catholic Home Study Service might come in handy: Catholic Home Study Service. Their courses are free and some of the material is posted online here.

 

[serendipity]

Thank you for all the suggestions!