Prison Ministry
Advocacy and outreach on behalf of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people, their families and their communities.
Meetings on Fourth Sundays at 1:30 PM.
Our Mission Statement
The Riverside Church Prison Ministry seeks to advocate for people who are currently or formerly incarcerated, as well as for their families, so that they ultimately can advocate for themselves and their communities in challenging systems of racial, economic, social and environmental oppression.
The volunteers – lay people, community workers, students, family members and people formerly incarcerated – work inside the prisons as well as on the outside worshipping, assisting families and sponsoring prison reform.
What We Do
- Plan and conduct worship services and programs in prisons throughout New York State
- Lobby for prison reform and humane legislation
- Correspond with people in prison
- Provide people in prison with crucially needed education materials
- Participate monthly in the Exodus Program at Eastern Correctional Facility
- Collect gifts at Christmas for the children of people in prison
- Lead discussions, bible studies and annual programs, conferences, and forums on Criminal Justice issues
- Provide assistance to faith-based communities in establishing their own Prison Outreach Programs
We welcome one and all to our meetings at 1:30 pm on the fourth Sunday of each month. We look forward to your assistance in carrying out our various programs, including letter writing to incarcerated individuals, advocating for reforms in NYS’s parole and clemency systems, annual Christmas toy drive, and collaborating with other nonprofit justice organizations on a range of issues and activities.
Meeting Dates
Prison Ministry meets at The Riverside Church on the fourth Sunday of every month at 1:30 PM
Contact Info
Contact Co-convenors Jacqueline McLeod, jacqueline1943@aol.com or Sheila Rule, resiliencemultimedia@verizon.net. For additional information contact The Riverside Church Mission and Social Justice Office at 212.870.6909.
“What is good and what does the Lord require of thee, but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.” Micah, 6:8