Jail ministry rewarding for Boone County deacon

By RENEE WEBB
Content and Design Coordinator
 
Just a month after his ordination to the permanent diaconate in the summer of 2021, Deacon David La Mar began to serve in jail ministry of which he believes he has been called.

“Nobody ever really approached me about this ministry. I recall during diaconal formation while at prayer, discerning what I believe was the prompting of the Holy Spirit: ‘You should go to the Boone County Jail and see if you can help them with jail ministry,’” said the deacon who serves at Ascension Parish in Boone County.

It was in 2019 as a deacon candidate when he first visited the jail to inquire about ministering there. The jail declined at that time because they already had a local minister to address the needs. He approached them again in 2020 and received the same response.

“Then in early 2021 before ordination, I returned to find out their staff minister left and they could use my help,” said Deacon La Mar. “So, my first day there was a month after my ordination and it’s been a joy ever since.”

Reflecting on his involvement in this ministry, the deacon noted he is convinced this was a legitimate calling “because it was persistent, gentle, filled with love and has produced good fruit.”

The deacon noted he believes the ministry is particularly well-suited for deacons because it is a ministry of service.

“It requires all the characteristics the diocese emphasized with us during formation: having the loving heart of Christ, a listening ear, patience and the ability to recognize those we encounter are eternal, beloved souls who belong to the Lord,” he said.

Deacon La Mar visits the Boone County Jail every other Wednesday or Thursday beginning at 6:30 p.m., depending on other parish obligations such as teaching OCIA class.

On the jail visits, he typically conducts organized prayer services where they gather in small groups for an opening prayer, Gospel reading and the deacon provides a short reflection on the Gospel. Intercessions are part of the service as is the Lord’s Prayer.

“After a brief concluding prayer, I always ask them if I can give them a blessing. And they always agree,” said Deacon La Mar. “There are four enclosures at the jail for various populations and I have to visit with each of them separately, so I make myself available four times each visit. It takes somewhere between 90 minutes to two hours.”

From time to time, he is asked to visit the jail’s booking facility where he is able to meet with individuals in single cells. Again, the deacon noted, he shares the Gospel and a reflection.

“I also meet with people who are newly arriving and going through the intake/booking process,” he said. “I try to spend some brief, quality time with them, just being present and encouraging them, reminding them God loves them and offers his grace, mercy and forgiveness to anyone who asks, trying to provide some degree of comfort and peace.”

Deacon La Mar assures them of his, the parish’s and diocese’s prayers.

“It’s a truly rewarding ministry,” he stressed. “Every so often, after a long day at work as a member of the Success Center Team at Boone High School, sometimes my energy level is running a bit low.  I ask the Holy Spirit to give me the grace to reenergize before I arrive at the jail. And it always happens just as I walk through the door, I feel reinvigorated and experience the strength and endurance necessary to give my best effort by the Grace of God.”

The deacon is affirmed in the knowledge that at the very least he is performing a corporal work of mercy by visiting the imprisoned. He noted he is reminded of that every time he reads the Judgement of the Nations passage from Matthew 25.

 “I willingly accepted this as part of my ministry as a deacon because there was a need for it and I figured it wasn’t going to be easy,” said Deacon La Mar. “There was some trepidation at first, especially when I walked in the facility for the first time and heard these heavy, massive doors slamming and locking behind me.”

The deacon acknowledged he asked himself, “What am I getting myself into here?” He initially thought the visits would be conducted through closed-circuit TV. 

“They’re actually face-to-face meetings in the jail cells,” he explained, adding that the sessions are monitored by a security camera system. “Every time I visit, it’s been a pleasant experience.”

Deacon La Mar mentioned that the jail administrators and staff are very kind and welcoming to him. They have often told him the jail ministry has made an impact as the inmates are changed after the visits.

“They are calmer and more at peace. They begin reading Scripture from the dozens of Bibles I’ve dropped off from Ascension Parish,” he described. “I’ve often experienced those filled with anxiety and fear seated before me who, within minutes, become serene and relaxed after we pray and talk together.”

The deacon informs the inmates that it is the Holy Spirit working, not himself as he is just the messenger.

On occasion Deacon La Mar will encounter a former inmate out in public and they thank him, stressing how much the visits meant to them. Many mention they are trying to turn their lives around and live by God’s way.  

In addition to jail ministry and team-teaching OCIA, the deacon is involved in various other ministries such as addressing food insecurity in Boone County, operating a world-wide rosary distribution program called Stella Maris Rosary Mission and serves on his parish’s Faith On Tap Committee. Deacon La Mar is involved in sacramental ministry, pastoral ministry with those seeking guidance and assists with various other special projects and services.


HOME