Catholic Ministry at the local Jail & Prisons

"Preach
     the Gospel
       always, and
    when necessary
    use words" -St Francis of Assisi-

St. Francis of Assisi,
Ann Arbor
Social Ministry

Christ the King
Catholic Church,
Ann Arbor

MORE/Other
Prison Ministries

We encourage your pariticipation in Prison & Jail Ministries at a number of other locations listed here below.

Mentor an Ex-Offender: Join a team of trained mentors that mentor person paroled from prison, returning to our area. At least 30 team members, both men & women) serve in our County.
The Office of Restorative Justice Lansing Diocese is coordinating informational meetings & training. Contact: Tim Metts 517-342-2495 or 517-342-2560.                                      .

Huron Valley Women's Correctional Facility
Learn more. .

Special Alternative Incarceration (Boot Camp) Volunteers ALSO NEEDED to participate in Catholic Ministry at the Cassidy Lake Boot Camp 1.5 - 2 hrs per month for Bible Discussion Group. Contact: Bob Brundage (434-8161). Learn more, CLICK HERE!

Maxey Boys Training School Ministry has a mass each Sunday evening at 6pm at the Maxey Chapel in Whitmore Lake, Michigan.   Contact the Holy Spirit Roman Catholic Churh Office at 810-231-9199 x0.

WASHTENAW COUNTY Jail,
join with a group of Catholic volunteer ministers... Read more in the center column of this web page.

Prisoner Pen Pal Ministry - in the Diocese of Lansing To request a copy of the Prisoner Pen Pal Guidelines and Application Form, contact: Tim Metts 517-342-2495 or 517-342-2560.                                      or write to: Restorative Justice Ministry 300 West Ottawa Street Lansing, MI 48933

Other Links

Here is the Statement of the Catholic Bishops of the United States, on Prison Ministry, entitled "Responsibility, Rehabilitation, and Restoration: A Catholic Perspective on Crime and Criminal Justice".

Restorative Justice Lansing
Other Prision Ministries in the Dioceseof Lansing

The Michigan Department of Corrections "Outreach Volunteers" go into any prison in the State of Michigan System for one-to-one visits with inmates. Learn more Michigan Department of Corrections www.michigan.gov
/corrections . Also see the "Offender Search".

To do a search for offenders in the Wasthenaw County Jail visit: www.vinelink.com

Catholic Christian MINISTRIES
Jesus is in JAIL! Will you pray with him?
"Be Not Afraid!" Jesus was incarcerated during his life, and he can still be found in the jail. Come and see for yourself. Join a ministry team!
Complete the Catholic Ministry vounteer sign-up by filling out the sign-up form below, click here, or Contact: or .

AFTER-CARE Programs	Directions & Map to the Jail	History	LITURGY PLANNING & RCIA	MORE/Other Prison Ministries
NEXT ORIENTATION Date	Testimonies from Ex-offenders	how to SERVE MASS	Sign-up	Volunteer Task Descriptions

Sign-up Form

Volunteers: Have a Charisma for Christ, and, an ability to share faith in Jesus. Please, complete the Catholic Ministry volunteer sign-up by filling out the sign-up form below, or by contacting or the St. Francis of Assisi Parish Social Ministry Office, .

Please, INDICATE your availability for the Schedule on a Saturday, Sunday, Wednesday or OTHER day, & the ministry TASK(s) that you are most interested in performing. (See TASKS below.)

Jail ORIENTATION:

(The Catholic Religious Services Office at St. Francis Parish will let you know as soon as a new dates are announced.)

Join us for the Jail Orientation Saturday, February 27, 2010, on "The Rules & Regulations of the Jail" presented by the Jail staff at the Washtenaw County Jail Sheriff’s Dept. 9am-12pm in the Administrative Conference Rm.
RSVP to Scott Wright (734-821-2121).

Please invite others to join you, to hear the call of Jesus, to Go to Jail, Visit and Assist with Catholic Services and our group prayer services in jail for both women and men. We especially need people willing to join in prayer with the women inmates.

We ask that you go to the three-hour-orientation once each calendar year.
The Jail staff will schedule the orientations several (3-4) times each year.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

    Name: (Full Name: First, Middle, Last)

     Telephone: (Home# Work# Day# Evening#)

     E-mail Address:

     Mailing Address: (include zip code)

    Catholic Parish Membership at:

Other Comments:

Questions, contact: or . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - If you, or your friends, want to go to this orientation, please go ahead and attend it ... even if you don't RSVP. But, you must be there at the beginning 9AM and stay for the whole session for credit.

(After this, the next orientation is expected to be scheduled sometime in one of these months. (Past dates included: November 3, 2007; February 9, 2008; June 7, 2008; October 11, 2008; February 28, 2009; June 27, 2009; October 24, 2009.)

The Jail Catholic Religious Services Office, at St. Francis Parish, Scott Wright, will let you know as soon as a new date is announced. (Unfortunately the wait for our new volunteers can be several months until they are able to attend an orientation & participate.)

When you attend the ORIENTATION session you will provide your personal information & complete this WASHTENAW COUNTY SHERIFF DEPARTMENT
Professional Visitor and VOLUNTEER INFORMATION FORM (Word Doc) or (PDF) for the Official Clearance & the Criminal History Check.

(Catholic Priests that enter the Jail to assist with Sacraments are exempt from having to attend the ORIENTATION session.)

If you have any further questions or concerns, please contact: our Jail Staff Contact Person, Myra Wilson, Correctional Services, Specialist, at the Sheriff's Department, (973-4382) < > .

VOLUNTEER
Task Descriptions

A group of at least four Catholic volunteers from local Catholic parishes, visit the jail every week. Some volunteers serve on an as needed basis, and, others serve on one Saturday or Sunday each month, and, others serve every other week. We even have some volunteers that help with a Catholic Inquiry/Catechism Class on Wednesday evengings.

VOLUNTEERS on Saturdays

The volunteers that serve on Saturday:

arrive at the entrance of the Jail by 8:45AM Saturday morning. (Or, 7PM Sundays & Wednesdays)

at 8:45AM enter the jail with about 4 other Catholic volunteers.

must present a valid Drivers' License or State/County identification card.

on the first & third Saturdays of each Month we celebrate Mass.

on the second, fourth & fifth Saturdays of each Month we pray the Liturgy of the Word, with Holy Communion.

depart from the jail by about 10:45AM.

VOLUNTEERS on Evenings

The volunteers that serve on evenings:

arrive in the parking lot by 6:50 pm for services/classes in the evening.

On the right, just across from the main doors is where we park. The volunteers wait in their cars until about 7:00pm and then gather for a few minutes in front of the main doors before we go into the jail. (We do not go into the main doors but through a door on the left side that the jail keeper will electronically unlock for us after we call on the intercom.)

arrive at the entrance of the Jail by 7:00PM Sundays an/or Wednesdays

at 7:00PM enter the jail with about 4 other Catholic volunteers.

must present a valid Drivers' License or State/County identification card.

Volunteer TASKS

- All Volunteers -
   + -- help to set-up (& clean-up) the room including:
   + -- Altar (with Crucifix), Ambo, Chairs, & put the books out.
   + -- Also, all volunteers greet inmates as they arrive for the service.
   + -- (REMEMBER, the PHONE, near the class room door, can be used to reach the Booking Entrance -71319- in the evening, or the Control Room -71322- during the day.)
   + -- Volunteers & inmates sometimes share reflections on the readings. See this Sunday's readings here: http://www.usccb.org/nab/
- Key to cabinet & Attendance -
   + -- have a key to the cabinet &
   + -- is responsible for the attendance sheet.
   + --Communicate with "Jail Central" to announce "Catholic Services", to open the class rooms, and let Central know at 10:30AM that we are finished with the service.
   + -- (For Mass only, bring one ounce of altar wine.)
   + -- At the end of the service: make announcements;
   + -- remember to have the inmates turn the chairs around to face the door of the class room; and,
   + -- check the inventory of hosts, candles, misselett books, etc.
   + -- REMEMBER TO LOCK the CABINET!
- Assign readers & pages -
   + -- get readers,
   + -- Set-up the Lectionary
   + -- write the page numbers on the board for the: Songs, Gloria, Readings, & Creed.
- Prayer Leader: preach & preside -
   + -- is prepared to, & leads the prayer, (Eucharist/Reconciliation or Liturgy of the WORD, learn more about about LITURGY PLANNING at the Jail, Click Here!).
   + -- is prepared to, & preach/break open the WORD proclaimed.
-   Music Ministry -
   + -- a prepared guitar/musician/cantor.
   + -- Select & lead the singing of 2 songs; opening & closing,
   + -- also, sing the Gloria, & Alleluia, (It's NOT necessary to sing the other Mass Parts).
-   Serve Mass -
   + -- set out the water cruet, wine cruet, bread-hosts, plate, cup, purificator, Sacramentary, hand towel, bowl, & serve the Mass. (Learn more about about how to SERVE MASS at the Jail, Click Here!).
-   Assist with Other Services -

Assist at Eucharistic Adoration, or, Religious Education.

may enter & minister at the jail at a convinent time during any day or an evening (alone or with one other minister).

(As you grow in experience, and, if you desire to get more involved there may be opportunities for you to: sponsor an inmate that is preparing for sacraments of initiation; teach a class on Wednesdays; go to court or meet with individual prisoners on a particular issue like housing, job search, etc.)

One-To-One Visits - TRAINING

- TRAINING for Making One-To-One Visits -
+ -- One-to-one visits can be done only after contacting Bob Roleke at work 930-4524.
+ -- I, Scott Wright, do not keep a schedule for one-on-one visit sessions, only for Catholic religious services.
-------------------------------

The Church Welcomes
in JAIL

The Church Welcomes in JAIL: Celebrating Sacraments of Initiation - including a Profession of Faith, Baptism, Confirmation, and First Holy Communion:
"Each one of you, beloved, are now part of us, and the greater Catholic community, as we continue our journey to the fullness of God's kingdom. -- Even while you are serving time in the jail, seeking healing & reconciliation, may we strive to support one another in our faith and share Christ's Good News with the world. Blessings, in Christ!" Scott Wright.

Please pray that this time at the jail may be a blessing for our ministers as well as the inmates and staff in the facility.

DIRECTIONS

THE WASHTENAW COUNTY Jail,
is located at:
the SHERIFF'S OFFICE & Washtenaw County SERVICE CENTER, 2201 Hogback Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105.

Here are directions to the Washtenaw County Jail.
1: (Near Ann Arbor) Driving South on US-23 .
2: Take the exit- number 37A- towards M-17/YPSILANTI, Washtenaw Ave. East.
3: Merge onto WASHTENAW AVE. Immediately get into the left turn lane.
4: Turn LEFT onto HOGBACK RD. Stay in the right hand lane for a very short distance.
5: Turn RIGHT into the Washtenaw County SERVICE CENTER.
(Notice that HOGBACK RD. is the north end of CARPENTER RD. at the intersection of WASHTENAW AVE.)

The main driveway into the jail is off of Hogback Road (Hogback is the same road as Carpenter but the name changes when it crosses Washtenaw Avenue. The driveway is the first one north of the entrance to the Mobil Station which is on the corner.)- Come up the driveway and just past where it levels off you will see the main entrance to the Washtenaw County Sheriffs Department - on the left.

On the right, just across from the main doors is where we park. ... (more directions for evening services)

Cathoilc Services INSIDE the JAIL

Pictured here, on this web page, you can see the assembly of over 30 inmates, 8 volunteers and Fr. Antonio Feghali (the Sacramental Minister at the Jail) celebrating Mass & the sacraments of initiation - Baptism, Confirmation, and First Holy Communion - with some of those inmates that study our Catholic Faith & pray with our community.

Catholics & other persons, in jail, whom are interested in learning more about the Catholic faith are invited to attend services in a class room. We have the weekly Saturday morning Catholic Mass/Liturgy. There are two inquiry group/catechism classes that meet for (12 weeks) on Wednesday evenings. And, the second catechism class is for persons that are already Catholic and have finished the first class.

Growing closer to Jesus, & learning more about the Catholic Faith we encourage spending time with the Lord Jesus in a variety of ways including: One-on-one visits, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, inquiry group/catechism classes, Eucharistic Adoration, Mass, & Liturgy of the Word.

--- ---

At THE WASHTENAW COUNTY Jail, join with a group of Catholic volunteers to assist at the Mass or Liturgy of the Word Service on Saturday, etc... Read more in the center column of this web page.

Some volunteers never enter the jail facility, but, they support the ministry by helping with projects such as:

Making holiday gift cards;

Writing letters as a Pen Pal;

Donating $5 for a Bible or Catechism;

Praying for peace & justice in the lives of those in jail;

Praying for & encouraging the families of those in jail through special programs; And,

Welcoming those released to Sunday Mass & other groups to meet supportive new friends.

---- Join a ministry team! "Be Not Afraid!" Jesus was incarcerated during his life, and he can still be found in the jail. Come and see for your self. Contact: Scott Wright (821-2121) "Go Directly to Jail!" On the Web: stfrancisa2.com/ socialministry/

The HISTORY of Catholic Services at the Washtenaw County JAIL

The HISTORY of Catholic Services at the Washtenaw County Jail.

The property currently called the "Washtenaw County Service Center", including the Sheriff's Office, District Courts and Prosecutors Office, was sold to Washtenaw County in 1978 by the Catholic Holy Ghost Fathers' Seminary. Go to the Pittsfield History Page to see photos & learn more about it.

June 30, 2000, Fr. Jim, Pastor of St. Francis Parish asked Scott Wright the Director of the St. Francis Parish Social Ministry Office to begin a jail ministry at ...Read the HISTORY of Catholic Services at the Washtenaw County Jail, CLICK HERE!

St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, Parish Social Ministry Office,
2150 Frieze Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48104