PJM Newsletter
 March/April 2020
D ear Volunteers and Friends,

It was wonderful to see many of you at our 3rd Annual Volunteer Appreciation Dinner on Feb. 10 here at Cathedral Square Center. More than 70 program volunteers attended. The evening began with a ministry update. During this update, we presented Lifetime Achievement Awards to two volunteers who have served the ministry for more than 20 years. The recipients of this were Kent County Jail volunteers, Lorraine Callaghan and Larry Mulligan. They have faithfully served the men and women at Kent County Jail for 20 years. We are very grateful for them, the work they do and their unwavering support of this ministry .

Guest speaker, Father David Kelly, executive director of Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation spoke to our volunteers, chaplains and police officers on the spirituality of restorative justice and shared stories of the transformative power of peacemaking circles.

We are grateful to all of our program volunteers. Because of your faithful service, we are able to provide 46 weekly Catholic services in 22 correctional facilities throughout our 11-county diocese. Each week, we offer 28 communion services, five bible studies, three prayer services, and two RCIA classes in seven prisons, four county jails, and three juvenile detention centers. In addition to our services offered inside our correctional facilities, this past year we helped guide seven individuals as they returned from incarceration through GROW, our reentry outreach ministry. Three GROW members joined us for the dinner. These three members were very active in our Catholic services while in prison and continue to be active members of our Church upon their return.
F ather David Kelly, executive director of Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation spoke to volunteers, guests, chaplains and police officers on the spirituality of restorative justice.
Dinner guests gather for a picture with program presenter Father Kelly. Pictured here:
Kevin Radish, Bob Brown, Officer Dan Myers, Tricia Worrell, Father David Kelly,
Chaplain Danny Peeples, Father Melvin Fox.
Administrative Assistan t

In January, we said goodbye to Elizabeth Klein, program assistant for Prison and Jail Ministry. She has accepted a new position in her hometown of Fowler.

Elizabeth has been instrumental in helping to grow this ministry over the past three years. Because of her dedication, hard work and outstanding interpersonal, organizational and technology skills we were able to implement our new re-reentry outreach ministry, GROW. Elizabeth’s last day was Jan. 20. She began her new position the following week as administrative assistant at Most Holy Trinity Catholic School in Fowler - where her son Owen will attend in the future. We are thrilled for this new opportunity for Elizabeth and her family and also very sad to no longer have the enjoyment to work with her on a daily basis. Although Elizabeth will no longer be employed by the diocese, she will continue to serve as a program volunteer at Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility. Please join us in praying for Elizabeth and her family as she begins this new journey, and wish her well in this endeavor.

Informational Sessions

We are offering two Informational sessions on Tuesday, June 24 for those interested in learning more about the important work of Prison and Jail Ministry and possible volunteer opportunities. These sessions will be held at Cathedral Square Center in room 215. If you or someone you know are interested in attending, sign up for one of two sessions here

Newsletter Emails
Please take caution when viewing our Newsletter via a tablet or smart phone, that you do not 'unsubscribe' to our emails. While 'swiping' with your finger to view the newsletter, it is easy to hit the 'unsubscribe' button on the bottom of the page. When this is happens, you will no longer receive newsletters or email blasts from the ministry. If you find you are no longer receiving emails from us, please contact our office. We will send you a 'resubscribe' email. After we receive confirmation from you stating you accept it, you can be added back to the contact list.

Please remember to read this newsletter completely. Important information and resources are included in the team updates and newsletter inserts.
 
Tricia Worrell
Director, Prison and Jail Ministry
tworrell@grdiocese.org
616-475-1255

Team Schedules                        
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Ionia Team
Chaplain Richard Burtts is the new institutional chaplain at MTU. If you see Chaplain Burtts, please welcome him and introduce yourself. We look forward to serving with Chaplain Burtts to help meet the spiritual needs of the Catholic population at MTU.

There are now more than five men requesting Catholic services in Level V at Ionia Correctional. I will begin leading services on Wednesday, Feb. 27. Should this number be consistent and we learn services will be needed weekly, I will contact those who have expressed interest in serving this facility in April to place them on the schedule.
Kent County Team
Please welcome Marylou Northrop to the Kent County Team. Marylou is currently shadowing the women who lead the Thursday evening women's Bible Study and will begin rotating in once a month to lead this service this spring.

Below is the Kent County Bible Request Form. Use this when an inmate lets
you know they have a release date and would like a Bible. Have them fill this
out and we will mail a Bible directly to their home address. 

Muskegon Team
The men who attend our Catholic service at Muskegon Correctional would like to begin a Bible Study. This service has been approved by the chaplain. If you are interested and able to help lead this once or twice a month on Thursday evenings please contact Tricia at tworrell@grdiocese.org or 616-475-1255.
Ottawa Team

Below is the Ottawa County Bible Request Form. Use this when an inmate lets
you know they have a release date and would like a Bible. Have them fill this
out and we will mail a Bible directly to their home address. 

Resources for Juvenile Detention Centers
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Communion Service Sheets

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Need help with reflection time resources?
Check out the websites below.