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Thursday, March 28, 2024

After pandemic shutdown, prison ministries could soon resume in-person connections

Susan Klemond

Prison ministry participants — whose faith, hope and mercy are often part of inmates’ successful return to society — may be able to enter prisons again within the next six weeks following the prisons’ COVID-19 shutdown, according to Paul Schnell, Minnesota Department of Corrections commissioner.

Schnell spoke Sept. 19 along with Archbishop Bernard Hebda at a forum on prison ministry.

“The very people who oftentimes have been the cornerstones of transformation of hope, of safety,… the members of faith communities are disconnected from that opportunity to connect,” since the shutdown began last March, Schnell said, adding that the return of faith-based and other volunteer groups will depend on a threshold of virus positivity set by the Minnesota Department of Health.

Connecting with a faith community while in prison helps inmates return to society sooner, Schnell said.

“We are working to transform the lives of those in the system and also demonstrate, in the way we live and help others see the world, that people are more than the worst thing they’ve ever done,” he said.

The forum, “Christian Prison Ministry in a Time of Change: Finding the Future Together,” also featured a panel discussion with prison chaplains and employees. It was sponsored by Twin Cities Prison Ministry and organized in partnership with the University of St. Thomas and the Catholic Community Foundation of Minnesota, all based in St. Paul, and the Center for Mission in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. It was held at the University of St. Thomas and included virtual participants.

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Transformation often results when ministry participants proclaim God’s mercy, said Archbishop Hebda, citing Pope Francis’ teaching on people who are incarcerated.

“We have to remember that we have a God who is merciful and always sees that we have a future, who always recognizes the possibility of true conversion and aims for reconciliation,” the archbishop said.

Because prisoners can come to know the merciful God, especially through Scripture study and prayer, the Church needs to encourage Catholics to pray more, find creative ways to support those in prison and help parishioners respond to a call to prison ministry, he said.

Close to half of Minnesota’s 8,330 adult inmates identify as Christian, and just under 9% are Catholic, according to the Department of Corrections.

About 30 people, including deacons, priests, other pastors and ministers, and representatives of non-Catholic prison ministries, attended the forum at St. Thomas. Another 70 people registered to view the forum online.

A goal of the forum was building the relationship between the archdiocese and Department of Corrections, said Fay Connors. She and her husband, Kevin, are members of St. Joseph in Rosemount and co-founded Twin Cities Prison Ministry. The organization aims to increase Catholic involvement in prison ministry inside and outside of facilities.

Although they can’t currently serve inside prisons, ministry participants can help inmates through prayer and through organizations that help families of incarcerated people, Kevin Connors said. Twin Cities Prison Ministry provides prisons with videos for Ignatian-inspired retreats.

Pope Francis urges everyone to be involved in rehabilitating inmates and helping them find freedom, not just from prison but from addictions and other problems, Archbishop Hebda said.

To do this as credible evangelizers, ministry participants need to reflect hope in their own lives, he said.

“If we find that we don’t have hope, that we’re bound by our past, it’s very difficult for us to engage in that work convincingly,” the archbishop said. “We have to always be involved in that process of conversion ourselves.”

For inmates to believe they have an opportunity for transformation, they need to feel safe, Schnell said. “Frankly, that safety doesn’t come from the bars keeping others who are incarcerated from them, but in fact that sense of safety comes from the connection that our staff and (ministry participants) bring,” he said.

Panel member Elise Goebel, volunteer coordinator at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Red Wing, encouraged attendees to increase connection by sharing their gifts in a variety of ways with juvenile young men at the facility.

Another panelist, Martin Shanahan, chaplain at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Stillwater, said corrections should be about restoration, not retribution. “I believe what corrections ought to be is a system and a possibility of reconnection,” he said.


PEN PAL POTENTIAL

By becoming a pen pal, Catholics can offer people in prison contact with the outside world, especially as in-person visits are restricted during the coronavirus pandemic.

Through a Pen Pal program started five years ago by the Order of Malta’s American Association, about 500 men and women are writing at least one letter per month to U.S. or Canadian prison inmates, according to Knight of Malta Steve Hawkins, program coordinator and a parishioner at St. John Neumann in Eagan.

The Order of Malta is an international lay religious order with roughly 2,000 U.S. members and volunteers. The ministry matches pen pals with inmates who share interests while protecting the writers’ anonymity, he said. Order of Malta membership isn’t required, but pen pals agree to maintain the correspondence for at least a year. The program is free, and pen pals can access letter writing tips.

About 100 U.S. inmates are waiting for pen pals, Hawkins said, adding that they often learn about the program from a prison chaplain.

Pen pals contribute to inmates’ successful reintegration into society, he said.

“Those of us on the outside show care and concern for them while they’re serving their sentence, and the results are simply astounding,” he said.

For more information about the program, email tcpm.linda@gmail.com or search “pen pal program” at orderofmaltaamerican.org.

 


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