Corrections Ministries / Deacon John Cord

Oct. 26 conference geared for both current and new prison ministry volunteers

The Archdiocese of Indianapolis has many prisons and jails within its borders, including 39 county jails, nine state prisons and two federal prisons. There are more than 30,000 people incarcerated.

I am not sure exactly how many Catholics are among those incarcerated, but it is well into the hundreds if not thousands. We are blessed that we have many priests, deacons, religious women and men and lay volunteers who visit these facilities on a regular basis.

Last year, we sent out a survey across the archdiocese, and we learned that there are more than 150 Catholic women and men who volunteer in prisons and jails. We also learned that these dedicated volunteers are providing many services when they visit.

We have several priests who celebrate Mass and hear confessions. We have deacons, religious and lay volunteers who lead Communion services.

In many of the prisons, the Order (formerly Rite) of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) is being offered to women and men who want to join the Church. There are regular Bible studies every week. Some volunteers are providing educational classes on topics such as financial management, anger management and addictions recovery.

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul has dedicated volunteers who facilitate their Changing Lives forever program. Several Catholics volunteer for ecumenical organizations such as Kairos. I am always amazed and humbled by the outpouring of love I get to witness every day!

Part of the responsibility of the archdiocesan Corrections Ministry office is to make sure that we support these amazing volunteers with the latest and most relevant information possible.

Our team recently decided that we should provide this information in the form of a corrections volunteer training conference. It will be held from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Oct. 26 at St. Ambrose Parish, 325 S. Chestnut St., in Seymour. This conference will be for current volunteers and for those who feel called to become corrections volunteers who will be going inside jails and prisons.

Topics to be covered will include: how to become Safe Parish-trained (all volunteers who go into prisons will soon be required to have this training); legal aspects of working with offenders; updates on legislation that we are promoting and following; what programs are considered Catholic and what are not Catholic; collaborating with other Catholics in the facility where you volunteer; OCIA programs inside a prison and its guidelines; and how to prevent volunteer burnout. The Indiana Department of Corrections will have a team to provide their volunteer training. There will be a few other topics, and we will have time for fellowship and prayer during the fast-paced day.

If you are interested in joining us on Oct. 26, please reach out to me and I will send you a registration form. We would love to have all of our current volunteers join us, and love to see many new faces who would like to become volunteers.
 

(Deacon John Cord is the coordinator of Corrections Ministry for the archdiocese. For more information on supporting the office’s re-entry ministry, contact Deacon Cord at 317-432-6604 or e-mail jcord@archindy.org.) †