Prison Ministry
Our lady of the Rosary is involved in Prision Ministry with two institutions; the Greenville County Detention Center (GCDC) and Perry Correctional Institute (Perry). Both of these ministries are bringing the word of Christ directly to inmates inside the institutions. OLR also works with Bridge to Home, located in Simpsonville, SC. Bridge to Home is a program driven halfway house for recently released women.
Wednesday evenings between 6:00 and 6:30 finds upstate Catholic Prison Ministry volunteers gathering at GCDC for a two hour ministry behind the bars. There are many volunteers, each with their own unique set of gifts and language skills. The individual and team volunteers minister to the inmates in their native language. The inmate ministry program is based on the Divine Mercy web site and the two biblical readings from the Lectionary for the day. In preparation, each volunteer is given an electronic copy of the lesson, and a summary of the two readings with a suggested reflection. This material helps the volunteers prepare their individual lessons and offers guidance, with respect to the Church's teachings. Seasonal Liturgical programs are provided, such as Ash Wednesday, Christmas and Easter. Confessions are available on a monthly basis as requested. Holy Communion is available by request to practicing Catholics.
Working with the administration at GCDC and Dismas Ministry, each Catholic inmate is provided with a English (or Spanish) Bible, prayer book, and Rosary beads. All of these items come with instructions in English (or Spanish) at no cost to the county, inmates, or volunteers
Thursdays are Mass day at Perry CI. Father 'Gean, a retired priest from Spartanburg, comes to Perry for mass and is met by a small contingent of volunteers. There will be from 10 to 15 inmates on average representing both the Native English and Spanish speaker. The Mass is always beautiful, but crowed because Perry does not have a chapel. The inmates offer their only possession, their identification in the form of their inmate ID badge, as part of the gift offering. Father always has the inmates sing, sometimes with Spanish songs and sometimes with English songs; more likely with both. For the Lord's Prayer they form a circle by holding hands. Holding of hands can be an overwhelming emotional experience, as you may be holding hands with a murderer; but you suck it up and offer it to the Lord. The sign of peace is emotional moving also because everyone gives a full upper body hug and as you watch, Father 'Gene calls each person (volunteer and inmate) by their first name. Mass ends with a final song of praise to God.
Friday at Perry finds some of the same volunteers plus others which were not there Thursday. There is a new program called "Catechism Study". Currently within this program is the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA). With the number of dedicated volunteers, all volunteers do not need to be there every session. This allows for the real world situations, such as; no baby sitter this week, illness, or other scheduling problem.
Volunteers come from: St. Anthony of Padua, St. Mary, St. Mary Magdalene, and Our Lady of the Rosary.