Restorative Justice - The spiritual needs of the incarcerated brothers and sisters is extremely high. “The harvest is many but the harvesters are few.” Join us to work on ways to increase how and where we can reach out to those in need of Christ's Love and Grace.
Some of the ministry opportunities to be discussed:
Kolbe Ministry - ACTS type retreat led in prisons
RCIA and Faith Formation Groups
Communion Services
Bible Studies and faith formation
ST. Dismas Retreat
Mentors to those about to get out of prison
Amachi Program - Big Brothers and Big Sisters of the Brazos Valley provides an Amachi Progam. The Amachi program seeks to build partnerships with local churches to serve children and youth with one or both parents in prison by providing a caring and dependable adult in their life. Contact Big Brother and Big Sisters through the website www.bbbsbrazos.com or Branch Director Terry Dougherty, 979-224-3660.
Kolbe Ministry - ACTS-type retreat led in prisons by men or women who have attended an ACTS retreat. Kolbe retreats are held at the Wallace Pack Unit and some units in Huntsville.
RCIA and Faith Formation Groups - facilitated in conjuction with Prison Liason from Houston/Galveston Diocese in the Wallace Pack Unit in Navasota. (There is an additional unit currently unserved due to limited volunteers.)
Mass and Confessions are provided by the Pastor.
Communion Services are lead by the Deacons at the Federal Women's Prison and the local men’s state prison in Bryan.
Bible Studies and faith formation are also led at both the Men's State prison and Federal Women's Prison by parishioners as well as Deacons.
Additionally, this group is working towards establishing housing, transportation, and employment for those returning to the community.
Volunteers in these ministries must complete State and Federal Volunteer training programs as well as Ethics and Integrity in Ministry application and training.
Training by city, click here.
Training by date, click here.
Responsibilities of Volunteers in the Prison System
The role of the volunteer within TDCJ is to provide guidance in specific activities and programs, promote personal growth and development, provide support and assistance to victims and offenders, and help facilitate re-entry into the community. If you are interested in becoming an approved volunteer within TDCJ or need to retrain as an existing volunteer, you are encouraged to attend this 4-hour volunteer training session, which will be conducted at the diocesan Pastoral Center.
Additional Resources
St. Dismas Retreats
https://www.dismag.org/about.html
If you are interested in joining this ministry, contact Jesus Perez at [email protected]