"The Chaplain Service Remembers Those in Prison" The Richmond Times Dispatch Following are six snapshots of prison ministry in Virginia: 1. The count had cleared at Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women. The gymnasium had been transformed into a sanctuary of worship. More than 250 women sang, prayed, and listened to the chaplain preach the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The women ranged in age from their 20s to their 60s. Their crimes included drug charges, malicious wounding, and murder.
	2. The chaplains at Red Onion State Prison and Wallens Ridge State Prison provide ministry in a different way. The super-maximum security at these prisons prevents corporate worship by the men who are incarcerated there. The chaplain visits from cell to cell, counseling, praying, delivering Bibles and religious literature, and sharing conversation about family and current events
	3. The chaplain at Sussex I State Prison visits the men on Death Row, and listens as most of the men express shame and remorse for their terrible acts. The chaplain is their spiritual adviser as they prepare to die. He discusses the Bible and listens to their confessions of guilt and desire for forgiveness. Several ask to be baptized, and the experience brings peace and joy to them.
	4. THE YOUNG men at Beaumont Juvenile Correctional Center gather for worship. They are older than most of the youths in the other juvenile correctional centers. They are intelligent, enthusiastic, and anxious to get on with their lives. They have just experienced an Epiphany weekend. A group of volunteers comes from the community and manifests God's unconditional love to the "Stars" through a three- day short course in Christianity. The chaplain coordinates the program.
	5. The worship service at Coffeewood Correctional Center - as in most of the prisons in Virginia - is a joyous time of praise songs, testimonies, solos, choir specials, and a dynamic sermon by the chaplain or guest minister.
	6. At Augusta Correctional Center, Buckingham Correctional Center, Nottoway Correctional Center, and the Virginia Correctional Center for Women, a program called Kairos is a continuing interdenominational ministry developed to build strong Christian communities in the prisons. The closing ceremony is a spiritual experience that includes singing, praying, testimonies, and conversions. Prayer groups are developed and reunions are held periodically to strengthen the Christian commitment.
	In 1920, leaders of seven denominations - Methodist, Baptist, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Society of Friends, and Disciples - founded what is now known as the Chaplain Service of the Churches of Virginia, Inc. Its purpose has always been to provide Christian worship, religious education, Bible teaching, and pastoral care and counseling, and to advocate for reform in the prisons and juvenile institutions. The Chaplain Service has always been at the forefront in service to the incarcerated. Libraries, A.A. programs, drama groups, art programs, parenting programs, and other volunteer opportunities have been started by the Chaplain Service.
	The first executive director of the Chaplain Service of the Churches of Virginia was the Rev. R.V. Lancaster, a Presbyterian minister, who served in that position from 1920 to 1938. The sixth executive director was the Rev. George F. Ricketts, a Baptist minister who served from 1968 until his retirement in 1995. Rev. Ricketts developed partnerships with the sponsoring denominations and foundations that provided financial support for the prison ministry.
	The prison system has grown dramatically since 1920. In 1920 there were 1,736 convicted felons, most incarcerated in the old State Penitentiary here in Richmond. Today there are approximately 30,000 adult prisoners, including 2,000 women and 3,000 men from out of state. The juvenile correctional centers house 1,150 young men and 110 young women.
	THE CHAPLAIN Service receives no state or federal funds. Virginia is the only state that does not have state-subsidized chaplains. The 2000 budget is $674,000. Funding is provided by 18 denominational organizations, foundations, businesses, and individuals. Our chaplains are assigned to 28 prisons and seven juvenile correctional centers. They preach the Gospel, teach the Bible, counsel the women, men, and youth prisoners, and coordinate the volunteers who assist the chaplain with worship services and musical programs.
	People ask why we care about these people who have committed horrible crimes or who have been involved in drugs and are now locked up away from decent, law-abiding people. The answer is that God and Jesus care for them. And the realistic fact is that the majority of the men, women, and youth will be released and will return to their communities, their friends, and a workplace. We want them to return as changed people - responsible, caring citizens who will make a positive contribution to society - and not as people who are looking for further criminal behavior. We want them to be accepted as people who have paid their debt and want to live a life of new beginnings.
	For 80 years the Chaplain Service of the Churches of Virginia has been responding to the biblical mandate, "Remember those in prison, as though in prison with them" (Hebrews 13:3), and the words of Jesus, who said, "I was in prison and you came to me" (Matthew 25:36).
	Click link to view other articles about Chaplain Service
	"Tight Budget Forces Chaplains to Regroup" The Richmond Times Dispatch
	"Virginia's prison population forecast to rise" The Richmond Times Dispatch
	"Keeping the Faith in Prison" The Richmond Times Dispatch
	"Second Chances at Life" Christianity Today
	"Chaplains On Call for Death - And Life" The Richmond Times Dispatch