wfn.org | United Methodists help build 20 prison chapels in Louisiana

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Jan. 15, 2002  News media contact: Tim Tanton7(615)742-54707Nashville, Tenn.
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A UMNS Feature
By Betty Backstrom*

United Methodists in Louisiana are involved in a campaign to construct 20
interfaith chapels in prisons throughout their state.

The first, Grace Chapel, opened in December at Avoyelles Correctional Center
in Cottonport, and three more will be completed in January.

Before Grace Chapel was built, religious services at Avoyelles were held in
cafeterias or general assembly rooms. A blessing service for the new chapel
drew religious leaders from a variety of faith traditions on Dec. 12, and
Gov. M.J. "Mike" Foster Jr. issued a statement noting the significance of
the event.

"This is a great day for Louisiana - another positive - something that will
continue to provide results for many years to come," Foster said. Foster and
his wife are honorary co-chairpersons of the Louisiana Prison Chapel
Foundation, which is building the series of interfaith chapels. Charles C.
Kleinpeter heads up the nonprofit, ecumenical foundation.

Bishop William Hutchinson, who leads the United Methodist Church's Louisiana
Annual (regional) Conference, and the Rev. William Youngblood, Alexandria
District superintendent, were among those at Grace Chapel's ecumenical
blessing service. 

"How shall this building be named?" Hutchinson asked during the service.
Fellow United Methodist Vinita Martin responded, "On behalf of my husband
and myself, we bless this building for the worship of God and the service to
the inmates and the staff at Avoyelles Correction Center to be named Grace
Chapel." Martin and husband, Roy Martin Jr., have been major donors to the
Grace Chapel fund.

"The dedication of the new chapel at the Avoyelles Correctional Center was
an inspiring experience," Youngblood said. "It was so moving to see such
hope and joy in the faces of those who have every reason to have lost hope."

"This very important project will offer the inmates a freedom of spirit,"
said Sara Simmonds, a member of the foundation board and of First United
Methodist Church in Alexandria. Simmonds, along with Avoyelles Warden Baron
Kaylo, was instrumental in organizing fund-raising efforts for the project
in Central Louisiana. Kaylo is a member of Marksville United Methodist
Church.

Construction of the chapels began in 2001, after the foundation announced it
had raised $1.3 million from individuals and congregations throughout the
state. "Gifts from various religious denominations, individuals and
foundations have made it possible to complete the first four chapels,"
Kleinpeter said. 

The other three chapels are at C. Paul Phelps Correctional Center in
DeQuincy, Elayn Hunt Correctional Center in St. Gabriel and Wade
Correctional Center in Homer. Dedication services will be scheduled soon for
those, Kleinpeter said.

In addition to the Louisiana Conference, support for the first phase of the
chapel project is being provided by the Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge, the
Catholic Diocese of Lake Charles, the Louisiana Baptist Convention and the
Episcopal Church of Louisiana. 

"In this first phase, we have individuals who have provided gifts from $5 to
over $300,000," Kleinpeter said. "Many small gifts have been made in church
collections at Sunday services. Every dollar counts, and we are deeply moved
by this generosity."
 
Each chapel will use a similar architectural design for optimal efficiency.
The chapels will include a chaplain's office, meeting rooms, chancel/alter
space, baptistery and storage space. The basic structure consists of a metal
building frame, concrete block walls, standing seamed metal roof, a concrete
foundation and aluminum frame windows. Grace & Hebert AIA Architects Inc. of
Baton Rouge designed the chapels.

Inmates have lowered the construction costs by providing substantial labor
and other assistance, including site preparation; concrete slab work;
installation of electrical, plumbing, carpet and ceiling materials; interior
finishing work; final grading and cleanup. The contractor, Guy Hopkins
Construction Co., supplied all building materials and installed the metal
building, steeple, heating, ventilation and air conditioning. 

Avoyelles Senior Chaplain Robbie Strong was pleased with the new chapel. "I
am definitely excited about having a place to worship which we can call our
own."
# # #
*Backstrom is editor of Louisiana Now!, the newspaper of the United
Methodist Church's Louisiana Annual Conference. This story originally
appeared in that publication. 

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United Methodist News Service
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