The Prison Ministry mission is to encourage, assist and equip
the Church to respond to the pastoral and sacramental needs of the
incarcerated, their families, ex-offenders, victims and those who
work with the incarcerated, as directed and empowered by the Holy
Spirit.
Prison ministry has formally been a ministry of the Diocese of
Florida since 1987. At that time, there were about 9 prisons in the
Diocese with about 8,000 inmates. Prison ministry became formalized
with the passage of a Resolution on Prison Ministry at the 159th
Diocesan Convention in 2002. At that time, there were 22 prisons in
the Diocese, now, in 2006, there are 30 correctional facilites; 28
jails and 11 youth facilities. The prison population has risen to
over 30,000, making prison ministry one of the most challenging for
the Diocese. To answer the challenge, the Episcopal Diocese of
Florida currently has three full time, non-stipendiary priests.
Additionally, there are other supporting clergy and laity to bring
this ministry into the prisons, jails and youth facilities.
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