By PAUL WIRTH Diocesan Communications Staff
When you stand outside Lehigh County Prison, you can sometimes hear the shouts of the inmates from within its walls.
Every Thursday afternoon, however, the bleak sounds of life behind bars are replaced by the sounds of singing and prayer, thanks to regular visits by volunteers from the Diocese of Allentown.
“We just try to bring the love of the Lord to them,” said Joanne, one of the regular volunteers in the women’s section of the facility. (Prison ministers don’t use their last names for security reasons.)
Diocese volunteers serve federal, state and county corrections facilities throughout Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Northampton and Schuylkill counties.
“Our message is that no sin is greater than God’s mercy,” she said. “They have so much guilt and shame. Many are addicted to heroin.”
Joanne notes that a lot of the women she works with are not Catholic. “But they participate regularly,” she said, “and some of them become interested in converting to Catholicism.
“This is a ministry that can be very challenging, especially at first. But it’s so rewarding when you pray together and see the light come into their eyes.”
“Because We Are Catholic” tells the stories of how the people of the Diocese of Allentown make a difference in the lives of others, bringing the Light of Christ to each other and to our community.
