Luther Luckett Jail Ministry

The Christian Church in Kentucky has established a congregation at the Luther Luckett Correctional Facility in  La Grange. This congregation, led by chaplain Dean Bucalos, is experiencing some amazing things during the prison services. At a recent service in August, over 104 men were in attendance along with 25 Disciples from 6 different churches. Sixty men came forward to join the church!

From the Courier Journal :

October 14, 2008

Church founded in Kentucky prison

Luther Luckett Christian Church is first for Kentucky prison

By Peter Smith
psmith@courier-journal.com

As a band played traditional gospel ballads to an upbeat, electric tempo, worshipers sang and swayed, then settled down to share prayer requests and testimonies.

They heard an impassioned sermon about the gospel crossing racial and gender divisions. They gathered for communion, then sang a hushed, a capella version of "Amazing Grace," before eventually heading home.

For most, the trip home required just a short walk -- from the prison chapel to their cells at Luther Luckett Correctional Complex in La Grange.

But others -- worshipers, musicians and preachers who joined them -- drove home to Louisville or Frankfort, vowing to return for future services.

Religious groups of all stripes have visited prisoners and held prison services for centuries, but this gathering represents a new twist: It is the first formal religious congregation known to have formed within the walls of a Kentucky prison, according to the Department of Corrections.

It comes complete with a pastor, members, board, budget, denominational affiliation and name, Luther Luckett Christian Church.

"It's more than attending worship services on a Friday night," said the Rev. Dean Bucalos, the founding pastor. "We're forming a congregation."

Service added

The church formed in January and now counts 60 inmates as members, and has drawn as many as 100 to its worship services. It's funded by its denominational affiliate, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

The church began meeting one Friday night a month, but so many outside volunteers wanted to join them that they plan to start meeting every two weeks.

The group follows a model used by about a dozen other prison congregations nationwide, mainly in the Upper Midwest, according to the organization Prison Congregations of America. They are affiliated with Lutheran, Episcopalian and other denominations.

In such congregations, the pastor maintains regular contact with the inmate members, who bear "some responsibility for being the church, for managing their own church, for welcoming the strangers that come in every Friday night," said the Rev. Ed Nesselhuf, executive director of Prison Congregations of America.

The September service at Luther Luckett drew about two dozen volunteers from several area congregations in the Disciples of Christ and a closely cooperating denomination, the United Church of Christ.

Carrying in everything from soft drinks and snack foods to guitars and amplifiers, they passed through multiple sets of guard stations and security doors, leading them behind walls festooned with razor-ribbon-wire.

The visitors sat among the khaki-clad inmates in plastic chairs, beneath the fluorescent lights of the sparse chapel, sharing Bibles and hymnals.

"This church is awesome," said inmate Robert Ray. "We've got a lot of different backgrounds here, a lot of people who have never been to church. But I like to bring my brothers with me to this service because it is so spiritual and uplifting."

Inmate Gary Ross agreed.

"I experience the love of God, meeting new people," he said. "It's just wonderful."

Bucalos said the services give inmates a rare "sense of normalcy."

"They're sitting next to somebody from the outside," he said. "They're not being judged, they're not being asked what they're in for, they're not being confronted about their faith, they're just sitting there in worship, they're sharing a hymnal, they're celebrating communion together."

Outsiders can join

While no outsiders have joined the congregation as members yet, they are eligible to do so. Before being allowed to visit, volunteers must provide their Social Security numbers and other information to the Department of Corrections for background checks.

Bucalos said he hopes the outsiders will get to know the inmates and, when they are released, help them get integrated back into society.

"Ninety-five percent of these guys are going to be released at some point in time," he said, adding with a laugh that he's "one of the only pastors in the commonwealth who will be very happy when people leave my congregation."

But he acknowledges that working with released inmates poses sobering challenges for churches.

Many of the inmates at Luther Luckett, a medium-security facility with about 1,000 inmates, have been convicted of sexual or other violent crimes.

Churches have become increasingly vigilant about protecting members from sex offenders, who are restricted in where they can live and work. So congregations would need training on dealing with such former inmates, Bucalos said, and would need to work with existing organizations that help integrate ex-offenders back into society.

Benefits of church

Warden Tom Dailey said churches could "be a big help" in reducing recidivism, or rates of repeat offenses.

Daily added that the congregation, with its pastor funded by the Disciples of Christ, helps ease the workload of the prison's lone staff chaplain.

"It's thinking outside the box for generic chapel activities," he added. "We can expand on those, plus give Joe Q. Public an opportunity to come in here" and volunteer.

Niki Hendricks, who chairs the prison congregation's board, said worshiping with the inmates "blesses your heart" but also "breaks your heart."

"We've all made mistakes, and so have these men," she said. "They are serving their term for the mistakes they've made. We're not naïve about that. … But God loves all of us, and God loves them too."