Prison Correspondence Ministry
Mission: To establish regular letter writing (monthly at a minimum) via email to the Brothers of Saint Dismas from people of the free world. Emails would be for the purpose of encouraging the Brother in White to grow their faith in God and their knowledge of the Catholic Church.
It is not meant to teach Catechism or the Bible, but you may field questions the Brothers have. You may answer the question only if you are positive the answer is according to the church. If in doubt, consult a priest or deacon.
Commitment: One email a month to the Brothers assigned. You may write more often but the commitment is at least once a month.
Remember, inmates have most of the creature comforts taken away from them while they are imprisoned. Write encouraging things to lift their spirits up and help them along on their spiritual journey. You can tell them that Jesus loves them and that you will pray for them.
Letter should not contain a promise to call or write family members. It is best to exclude personal information regarding where you live, work or go to school.
Keep confidential all information on the Brothers, including their TDCJ Number.
Volunteers must be 18 years of age or older.
Individuals may request, in writing, not to receive further correspondence from an inmate.
Format:
TDCJ uses JPAY or Securus Technologies
Volunteers:
● Complete application (Click here) – this ministry is separate from the retreats conducted. If you also attend retreats, you may request to be assigned Brothers who were at your table.
● Once your application is received, you will be sent the Brother’s name and ID. ● Sign on to https://securustech.online/#/enroll and create an account.
● Once you sign in, scroll down to eMessaging and click launch.
● Go to contacts and click Add Contact
● Search by name or ID
● The Facility is the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Then hit the search button.
● Scroll down to find your inmate. Luckily they have the unit name next to the inmate so you can make sure to pick the correct one.
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Administrator:
● Send a sample letter to volunteers monthly. Letter will be approved by Deacon Dennis Hayes prior to sending.
● Send new volunteers name(s) and ID(s) regularly.