Offer support and encouragement to grandparents during their child's childbearing years. Empower women to relate to each other in a spirit of inclusiveness and sisterhood. Welcome young families into the church community. The whole program seemed so right, so in accord with the Gospel, so responsive to the real needs of new mothers, and such a great way for parishioners to help one another. I heartily endorse the program.
Prison ministry can take many forms.
We offer some suggestions from the dioceses of Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina. Catholic chaplain Bill Matevie has coordinated prison ministries in the Diocese of Charlotte since 1991. He serves as full-time chaplain in North Carolina's largest correctional facility. He recommends that all efforts should be coordinated through the institution's chaplain or community resource council. Inquire also about a facility's guidelines for volunteers.