Category Archives: Pennsylvania Prison Chaplains Association

What Is “Chapel Talk,” And What Can It Do For My Jail?
by James L. Cavenaugh
Volunteer Chaplain
Dauphin County Prison

Imagine a group of inmates of various faiths and beliefs sitting in a circle, discussing a typical life issue: power, self-respect, forgiveness, patience, or the like.

They begin by taking turns reading the ground rules (see Figure 1 below) and then turn to the topic or theme for the day.  Because the group is explicitly for people of all faiths or no faith, reminders are needed sometimes about respecting the statements of others.  And because inmates often lack a chance to be heard and may want to speak at length, reminding the group that all need to be heard usually helps the one talking to wind up his statement.  When an inmate reaches into his/her private life for an experience he/she hasn’t spoken of, and the group listens respectfully and with care, the result is what we come together to achieve: group pastoral counseling.

In 1988, Chaplain Larry Coleman (now retired after 20 years as a staff chaplain at Dauphin County Prison) began a group pastoral counseling program based on his prior experience at the Fulton County jail.

By inviting all inmates, regardless of their religious persuasion, he was able to reach many more individuals than typically sign up for worship services or Bible studies.  His program was called “Chapel Talk” from the outset, and the groups drew attendance that was consistent – with rich discussion at every session. ¹

Most inmates at Dauphin County Prison identify as Christian, but there are also many Muslims, a few Jewish or Buddhist inmates, and a good number of inmates who do not identify with a faith tradition.  So a program that clearly reaches out to the whole inmate population will include a significant number whose needs are otherwise not being addressed.

One lively group included a Muslim sitting across from a Mormon who was beside a Roman Catholic, who was across from an unchurched inmate!  He was sitting beside a Baptist inmate who seemed to want to become a street preacher.  The discussion was rich, and with a few reminders now and then, it was quite productive.

It is important to be flexible when the discussion seems to get off topic, since the new direction may be of value to those in the group.  Often, some comment will suggest a topic for a future Chapel Talk, but just as preachers find sermon ideas everywhere – and often unexpectedly – I find Chapel Talk ideas throughout my day, inside or outside of the prison.

When I began doing Chapel Talks, I would prepare a handout with quotations from the Christian Bible, followed by quotes from various sacred or inspirational writings such as the examples in Figure 2 below.

Learning to find meaningful quotes on the Internet took a while, and when I discovered searchable translations of the Holy Qur’an online, I began adding quotes that Muslims inmates might appreciate.

More recently, I have used a handout which illustrates the topic with pictures found on the Internet (See ‘Fair Use’ disclaimer at the bottom of this article) as a way to make Chapel Talk accessible to those whose reading skills are not good, and because pictures relate to the creative side of the brain.

Figure 3 is an example of one of the most successful handouts – it turned out that the guys in the group knew what it meant to “wear a jail face.”

An important concern or challenge in setting up Chapel Talk groups is the ability or willingness of those leading the groups to be comfortable with faiths other than their own and to avoid evangelizing.

This issue needs to be addressed up front because while the senior chaplain at a prison is responsible for all inmates, the other chaplains are typically responsible primarily for those of their own faith.  Protestant chaplains minister to Protestants, Catholic chaplains minister to Catholics, etc.

Since Chapel Talk reaches out to all inmates, including those inmates who would otherwise “slip through the cracks,” some training or orientation may be needed to help all the chaplains at an institution become comfortable with this form of pastoral counseling. (Editor note: this would not be the case in a correctional  facility – such as the PA Department of Corrections, where, per policy, every staff chaplain is responsible for ministering to all inmates, regardless of faith group, unless the chapel activity/worship service is faith-specific.) 

With so many prisons depending on volunteer chaplains, accepting that not all chaplains will be able to be equally welcoming to all faiths may be a necessary compromise.

For example, a Catholic chaplain with decades of faithful service to Catholic inmates is making an important step by accepting all Christians to his Chapel Talk group.  Thinking  “multi-faith” when planning for Chapel Talks is an important first step.

Referring to the appropriate parts of the American Correctional Chaplains Association (ACCA) Code of Ethics (Figure 4) may be of value in this planning.  While not all chaplains in Pennsylvania prisons are expected to be ACCA members, this association, established in 1885, has long been the voice of professional correctional chaplains.  Its Code of Ethics, while not binding on non-members, has been developed through long years of experience in correctional chaplaincy and deserves our attention.  Training for volunteer chaplains in application of the ACCA (or similar) Code of Ethics would be an appropriate way to deal with the issues raised here.

In conclusion, Chapel Talks can be an effective way to reach out to Christian, non-Christian, and unchurched prison inmates who struggle with life issues – as we all do.

I continue to lead a Chapel Talk group at Dauphin County prison, with many repeat attendees and frequent comments like “today was a good talk, Chaplain.”  Coming from a guy who first attended as a way to “get off the block,” this is satisfying indeed.

Other inmates report that they have “learned things,” and were able to experience “another person’s point of view.”

Learning to “look at things differently” is indeed one goal of group pastoral counseling that benefits both inmates and staff in a correctional facility.

¹ “Small Group Pastoral Counseling at Dauphin County Prison” by Chaplain Larry Coleman, PPCA Newsletter, Spring 1998, vol. 7, no. 4, pp 2-3.

Chaplain Cavenaugh welcomes questions.  Or you can contact him and share how a Chapel Talk program is working in your institution.  He can be reached at nanjim65@verizon.net.

NOTE:

Images in Figure 3 are offered by Chaplain Cavenaugh as examples only.  They are being used in this article in accordance with ’Fair Use.”  This article is copyrighted, 2011, by James Cavenaugh, but he gives you permission to reproduce anything in it except the images in Figure 3 for use in developing a Chapel Talk program in your institution.  You are encouraged to find and utilize your own copyright-free images and not use the ones here (Figure 3) for use in your institution.

FAIR USE STATEMENT

The images in Figure 3 may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available for educational purposes and as examples only, and in an effort to advance understanding of pastor counseling and the Chapel Talk program, and we believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law.

FIGURE 1 – Ground Rules for Chapel Talk:  We are a pastoral counseling group where we address life issues from a religious or spiritual point of view.  Our goal is to help each of us [I generally add ‘including me’] develop the spiritual resources to tackle tough questions and make thoughtful decisions.   All faith traditions and beliefs are welcome.

1. Each of us shares responsibility for what happens here, because we are in this together.

2. The way we make it a good experience is by talking respectfully to the whole group, and by listening respectfully to all in the group, so that each of us has a chance to speak and to be heard.

3. Listening respectfully means paying attention and keeping silent until another has finished speaking.  No one is required to speak.

4. When I pay attention and wait for another to finish speaking, I am respecting him as I want to be respected myself.

5. When I have been talking a while, I need to listen to another speak, to hear another point of view.

6. Speaking respectfully means speaking from my own experience about my own feelings.

7. I need to remember that others have different life experiences and may not believe as I do.

8. When I give my point of view and tell how I feel, I am being respectful to myself without being disrespectful to others.

9. I understand that I cannot change someone else, only myself.  So if Chapel Talk is to help someone change, that is up to the individual.

10. What is said here needs to stay here. This is because if we start hearing things from Chapel Talk back on the block, it harms this time together and discourages people from being open and honest.

11. That goes for the Chaplain as well, unless someone speaks of planning to hurt himself or others, or is planning an escape, in which case the Chaplain is required to pass along that information.

FIGURE 2 – Chapel Talk Quotes: Letting the Past be the Past, at Last:

For anyone who lacks these things is short-sighted and blind, and is forgetful of the cleansing of past sins.  (2^nd Peter 1:9)

Say to those who disbelieve, if they desist, that which is past shall be forgiven to them; and if they return, then what happened to the ancients has already passed.  (Qur’an 8:38)

People are trapped in history, and history is trapped in them.  (James Baldwin)

The disadvantage of men not knowing the past is that they do not know the present.  History is a hill or high point of vantage, from which alone men see the town in which they live or the age in which they are living.  (G. K. Chesterton)

That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons that history has to teach.  (Aldous Huxley)

Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.  (George Santayana)

Each had his past shut in him like the pages of a book known to him by heart; and his friends could only read the title.  (Virginia Woolf)

Even though you’ve given up a past,it hasn’t given you up. It comes uninvited – and sometimes half welcome.  (Susan Glaspell)

A long past vividly remembered is like a heavy garment that clings to your limbs when you want to run.  (Mary Antin)

Figure 3 – Masks We Wear – Who We Really Are:

Figured 4: Excerpt from American Correctional Chaplains Association (ACCA) Code of Ethics:

PRINCIPLE VII – COMPETENCY (part)

Members are responsible for effective ministry within the institution they serve, whether responsibility is for the overall program or for one part of it.

Members exercise their ministry without influencing prisoners or staff to change their religious preference or faith. Members conduct their ministry without communicating derogative attitudes toward other faiths.

PRINCIPLE VIII – RESPONSIBILITY (part)

Members are primarily involved in matters directly related to the religious portion of the prisoners’ institutional life and rehabilitation.

Members maintain the highest ethical standard of behavior and avoid any social, personal, financial, or political situation that might discredit their ministry.

Chaplains are responsible for planning, coordinating, and supervising all religious activities and services. They are responsible for ministry to prisoners regardless of religious beliefs or affiliation, using outside sources for assistance when needed.