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"Prison
Chaplain Service Celebrates 85 Years" |
By
Times-Dispatch Staff Reports |
Published:
September 24, 2005 |
Sometimes
75-year-old Cecil McFarland takes his wife with
him to prison. Recently, he took his son.
McFarland spends a lot of his time in Virginia’s
prison system. He’s the executive director
of the Chaplain Service of the Churches of Virginia,
a nonprofit organization that provides chaplains
to Virginia’s prisons and juvenile correctional
centers. A United Methodist minister and former
Navy chaplain, McFarland tries to make sure inmates
have a chance to pray, study the Bible and, hopefully,
get their lives going in a better direction. |
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“When
a person is in trouble in the Navy or in prison, the first person
they want to see is the chaplain,“ McFarland said. “When
someone is in trouble in the church, the last person they want
to see is the pastor.“ |
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Yesterday,
the Chaplain Service held an anniversary celebration at Chamberlayne
Heights United Methodist Church in Henrico County. Among those
attending was Richmond native Hasan K. Zarif.
Earlier this week, Zarif talked about the impact the Chaplain
Service had on his life. |
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Even
though he was raised by strict and religious parents, Zarif
landed in prison at age 21 and stayed there for the next 16
years. He was released more than 10 years ago, but he can still
remember the names of the chaplains and volunteers who worked
with him to turn his life around. |
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He
now returns the favor by volunteering five to six hours a week
and spending thousands of dollars each year traveling to prisons
around the state where he serves as a lay minister. |
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While
the Chaplain Service was founded in 1920 by members of seven
different Christian denominations, today it advocates for the
religious needs and rights of prisoners of all religious backgrounds
and affiliations. |
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A
few years ago, the state Department of Corrections agreed to
help fund the service through money raised from items purchased
by inmates at prison commissaries. About half of the organization’s
roughly $1 million budget will come from those commissary funds. |
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“No
one is keeping records of how many felons there are in Virginia,”
Henderson said after the meeting. “Not even the Department
of Corrections.” |
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The
Chaplain Service’s payroll includes about a dozen full-time
chaplains and many more part-time staffers. The service also
depends on volunteers. |
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With
more prisoners released back into society every day, McFarland
said, it’s imperative to provide them with support while
they are still in prison to help them better integrate into
the outside world.
“The chaplain is the key person to help bring about that
change in a person’s life,“ he said. . |
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| Click
link to view other articles about Chaplain Service |
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"Kaine
term ends with host of Pardons"
The
Richmond Times Dispatch |
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"Ex-offenders
Grateful for Restored Rights" The Richmond Times Dispatch |
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"Voting
Rights Restoration helps us All" The
Richmond Times Dispatch |
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Many
Factors Behind Second Highest Toll - The State of the Death Penalty
in VA.
The
Richmond Times Dispatch
(Please be sure to view the two Acrobat PDF files
provided in this article at InRich.com) |
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"Pastors
with a Past" The
Richmond Times Dispatch |
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"Panel
Discusses Felons Who Want Right to Vote" The
Richmond Times Dispatch |
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"Tight
Budget Forces Chaplains to Regroup" The
Richmond Times Dispatch |
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"Virginia's
prison population forecast to rise"
The Richmond
Times Dispatch |
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"Keeping
the Faith in Prison"
The Richmond Times Dispatch |
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"Chaplain
Service job seems made to order" The
Richmond Times Dispatch |
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"Second
Chances at Life"
Christianity Today |
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"Chaplains
On Call for Death - And Life" The
Richmond Times Dispatch |
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"The
Chaplain Service Remembers Those in Prison"
The Richmond
Times Dispatch |
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