“I was in prison, and you came to visit me.”

By AMiA Communications

As followers of Christ, we are stirred to action by his words and by other admonitions in Scripture. Two churches within the Anglican Mission in America (AMiA) have taken up the call from Hebrews to: “Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison” and are actively partnering with prison ministries.

Kairos Pine Bluff Unit includes about ten men from St. Andrew’s Church

In Little Rock, Arkansas, Gil Gilbert heads up the prison outreach for St. Andrew’s Church. Serving through Kairos, a volunteer, lay-led, interdenominational Christian prison ministry, about 65 members of the Saint Andrew’s congregation participate in various Kairos events to bring Christ’s love and forgiveness to prisoners and their families.

“Both men and women serve on 3½-day retreat weekends every six months. They can also participate in weekly Prayer & Share nights, monthly reunions, two-day retreats twice a year and other special occasions throughout the year,” Gil explains.

“The congregation has the opportunity to sign up to pray, provide cookies and purchase a meal ticket to cover the cost of a meal for one of the participants on a weekend retreat,” he continues. They also help with agape posters (expression of God’s love) for the weekend retreat.

Gil has served as a volunteer with Kairos for over 30 years. He also serves on the Arkansas Kairos State Board and as chair of the Advisory Council at the Pine Bluff Unit II in Arkansas, as well as serving as a recruiter and volunteer.

Rt. Rev. Robert Cook, rector of St. Andrew’s and missionary bishop in the AMiA, explains, “For a congregation to fully embrace an outreach effort in the community, there must be someone who has caught the vision and can impart the vision within the church. Gil has done that for St. Andrew’s and Kairos for 20 years.”

Gil is quick to point out that though the ministry is for the prisoners and their families, the rewards are just as powerful for the volunteers. He shares this experience:

“As a table leader on a retreat weekend, I had the privilege to facilitate the discussion after each talk previously given. Each participant would have the opportunity to share either what the speaker said or what they felt about what the speaker said. One of the participants (John), an older gentleman who had a stuttering issue, would be rejected by those at the table due to his speech issue. In love, I would take time for John to share about the talk that was just given.

“As the weekend unfolded, John would say less and less about the talks. However, at the closing service everyone had an opportunity to share how the Kairos weekend impacted them. Everybody shared but John. Then the Holy Spirit moved upon John’s heart, and he got up to share, and those at his family table said, “oh no!” John did stutter, but this is what he said: “I ain’t never been loved like this in my life.” The Holy Spirit released through those few words the profound love of God that touched everyone. There wasn’t a dry eye in the place. Yes, those at his family table, with tears in their eyes, got up and embraced John in love and joy for what he was able to articulate by the power of the Holy Spirit. That moment had a profound effect upon everyone. God demonstrated through the weakness of John at that service just how much he truly loves those who are incarcerated. Amen!”

Gil explains that the most meaningful impact for him is “to see those in prison serving one another spiritually, physically and emotionally in a time of unmet needs while in prison.”

(L to R )Bill Upton with Jumpstart, Leigh Ann Sherbert, All Saints Church ministry liaison and Matthew Smith, JumpStart graduate

All Saints Spartanburg’s (South Carolina) involvement in prisoner outreach is in partnership with Jumpstart, a ministry that serves inmates after they are released. Most of the participants have gone through the local Kairos program (explained above) and are facing the daunting challenges of “life outside.” Leigh Ann Sherbert coordinates the partnership between All Saints and Jumpstart. “About eight years ago, the Jumpstart ministry itself invited several churches to look at their program to the point where the churches might decide what they might be able to do to assist their ministry.”

During the pre-COVID years, All Saints and other churches provided a meal on Friday nights. “Friday nights seemed to be their night that they had their big meeting to include all the participants in the program. The meeting sometimes was a business meeting, sometimes it was a Bible study, sometimes a visitor came in to speak or coach or preach or provide praise music,” Leigh Ann explains.

“When we started out, we got involved helping on Friday nights at least once a quarter,” she says. As enthusiasm for the ministry grew within All Saints, they increased their involvement to once a month, providing meals for the 50-60 participants on that night.

About a dozen who volunteered on an evening participated by helping to prepare and deliver the meal or to set up and clean up. Leigh Ann says, “Sometimes we offered a little musical praise session afterwards, which would maybe include one or two musicians, three maybe, and maybe the pastor.”

Tote bags contain combs, brushes, toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoos, soaps, lotions and other necessities.

At about the same time the church took on the ministry of providing hygiene bags. “Prisoners—men and women—come out with almost nothing. And so, the tote bag has basic toiletries and they all get socks, a Bible, a calendar, a pen, a sticky note pad and some kind of little salty snack and a sweet snack in there just for fun.

“They also get other things like razors and shaving items. The women get a few other little niceties such as fingernail polish and remover, hair bands, mirror, shower cap and nail care items. We try to give them some of the little things that are girly and just make you feel like you can make yourself feel better about yourself,” Leigh Ann explains.

During and since COVID, the Friday night dinners have been suspended, but All Saints has continued to supply the hygiene bags. Leigh Ann shops and, with other volunteers, puts the bags together.

“I really feel blessed by doing this. Regardless of whatever comes back, I feel like it’s the right thing to do. I feel like these are the most outcast of the outcast. We don’t have lepers these days, but we have folks in our society that are shunned on every level, from workplaces, from health care, from personal relationships,” says Leigh Ann. “There’re specific scriptures in the Bible that talk to people who are outcast. Jesus came to set the prisoners free. And in some ways, we are all prisoners of something.”