CCOP's Detention Ministry Is Doing Good and Growing

The coordinator, Richard Denoix, of the Catholic Detention Ministry at Santa Rita Jail has described what this ministry does. It provides worship services for an average of 60 inmates every Saturday of the year. Some of the volunteers also meet with inmates individually during the week. This ministry currently has 45 volunteers, mostly from CCOP, but also St. Raymond's in Dublin, three parishes in Livermore, and others. It has grown, doubling in size in the past three years, in spite of working in a difficult environment.

The ministry is both Catholic and Ecumenical. It is Catholic in the religious services it provides but ecumenical in welcoming inmates at Santa Rita County Jail in Dublin from all denominations. The ministry is tightly focused on serving the spiritual needs of the inmates, but at Christmas time they are instrumental in collecting, then distributing toys to the children of the inmates.

There are 4,000 inmates at Santa Rita, 90% men and 10% women. The jail has all levels of security but a majority of the inmates are housed in maximum security environments.

Detention ministers bring the Good News to the inmates. They do not try to convert or make a point of being Catholic. The Saturday morning worship service consists of the Liturgy of the Word, prayers, and a Communion service. After the readings there are times for reflection on the scripture in which inmates and volunteers participate equally. Each shares his or her perceptions, his or her understanding.

The ministry volunteers are expected to participate at least one Saturday a month, preferably two. The jail has eighteen Housing Units. For the worship services each Saturday the volunteers are divided up, usually two for the chapel and two for each of four of housing units. The services are one hour long and with getting in and getting out take about two hours of the volunteer's time.

There is a process of training, familiarization, and approval that typically takes a few months to complete before the candidate volunteer is ready to participate in the services at the jail.

Some volunteers also meet on weekdays with individual inmates who request this. There is a mentoring period including six months or more of participating in the Saturday morning services. At the beginning the volunteer will be accompanied by a senior minister, different ones at different times. After this they may meet with inmates one-on-one. The key quality for ministering to inmates individually is an ability to listen - not to preach, not with the idea of having all the answers. The minister is there to facilitate spiritual healing.

This detention ministry is tightly focused to avoid losing effectiveness. There are many other things that could be done and some of these are being addressed by other organizations. Aid is needed for the victims of crime. People who are released from jail or prison often need help in finding jobs and avoiding the influences which led to their imprisonment. Advocacy is needed for correcting the social conditions that lead to such high crime rates. Advocacy is also needed for reforming our laws and the criminal justice system, for more attention to and effectiveness of rehabilitation, and for vastly improving the opportunities for young people in poor neighborhoods to get good educations.