We told the stories of some of our new Dismas Ministry board members in our Summer 2013 Newsletter, but get to know two of them better in this video interview.
General posts about things happening at Dismas Ministry.
A special gathering on Saturday, October 26, 2013
Time: 8 A.M. to Noon
Location: Cardinal Stritch University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
A Gathering to Learn, Support and Share Resources for the loved ones of the incarcerated, and those who serve them in churches, organizations, professional agencies and communities.
Keynote Speaker Amalia Molina
Attendees will hear her story and how detention impacted both her, her husband and her children. Participants will have the opportunity to hear a panel of family members of the incarcerated, ask questions and discuss how to minister to these families and keep them connected to their loved ones.
July 18, 2013 – Milwaukee, WI – National Catholic Prison Ministry Meeting – Board members from around the country met Thursday, July 18, in Milwaukee for the annual meeting of Dismas Ministry, a national Catholic prison ministry based in Wisconsin but serving Catholic inmates in the nation’s county, state and federal prisons. The board members met with executive director Ron Zeilinger to set the annual budget for the outreach and to approve proposals to advance the ministry’s mission to bring free Catholic scripture, faith and prayer resources to chaplains and inmates.
Attending members included Amalia Molina (Restorative Justice Office-Archdiocese of Los Angeles), Rev. George Williams, SJ (Catholic chaplain at San Quentin State Prison, CA), Schauneille Allen (Director of Outreach Ministries, St. John the Evangelist Cathedral), Mark Henry (cordinator of Jail & Prison Ministry=Diocese of Boise ID), Brian Kennedy, MD (Detention Ministry-Waukesha County), Rev. José Moreno, SJ. (Pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, Milwaukee, Prison Outreach to Spanish-Speaking-Wisconsin), Deacon Richard Niggemann (Detention Ministry-Waukesha County & Juvenile Detention Ministry-Milwaukee County WI), Sr. Ruth Poochigian, OP (Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa and Catholic Prison Ministry WI), Deacon Al Stockert (Office of Prison Ministry-Diocese of
Biloxi MS). Newly elected members attending for the first time were Schauneille Allen, Sr. Ruth Poochigian, OP, and Rev. George Williams, SJ.
The ministry serves thousands of Catholic inmates annually, providing them with Bibles as well as faith and prayer resources designed specifically for inmates. The ministry was founded in 2000 and is approved by the Catholic Church. Bishop Donald J. Hying serves as the ministry’s ecclesiastical liaison.
Click here to view photos from the meeting on our Facebook page>
More information on this unique Catholic response to this unique work of mercy – visiting the imprisoned – can be found on the ministry’s website: www.dismasministry.org
This truck unloaded two pallet, 10,000 bibles total, at the Dismas Ministry office today. Dismas Ministry Director, Ron and Assistant Director, Ally unloaded them from the pallets outside to the storage unit inside.
Now they are ready to be sent to inmates who request our materials!
Check out the newest issue of our newsletter, This Day – Summer 2013.
Feature Article: We are happy to share that Dismas Ministry’s board of directors added three new members as of January 9, 2013.
Sister Ruth Poochigian, OP, is a member of the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa, Wisconsin. She holds an M.A in Systematic Theology from the Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, Missouri, and a PhD in Education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has had a career in teaching, spiritual direction, chaplaincy and for the past four years has been serving in correctional ministry.
Schauneille Allen, is currently the director of the Outreach Ministries at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, Milwaukee. She holds a Masters of Science in Religious Studies from Cardinal Stritch University, Milwaukee, with Certification in Urban Ministry. She has years of involvement in Clinical Pastoral Education, chaplaincy and social ministry including correctional ministry. She is a member of the American Catholic Correctional Chaplains Association.
Rev. George Williams, SJ, is currently a candidate at Northeastern University, Boston, MA toward a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice Policy. He holds an MDiv and an MA in Spiritual Direction from Weston Jesuit School of Theology- Cambridge, and dual degree-M.A./MSW in Pastoral Counseling and Clinical Forensic Social Work from Boston College. He is a member of the Order of Malta–American Association and served their prison outreach as spiritual director. He serves as theology instructor and chaplain at San Quentin Prison, California.