Thank you, First Baptist Church of Elgin, for partnering with Koinonia House Ministries (KHM) in blessing the families of the men incarcerated at Mississippi State Penitentiary (aka Parchman)! A little over a year ago, Superintendent Marc McClure faced a daunting task when he assumed responsibility for this 22,000-acre property, its 2,500 residents and approximately 800 staff. His wife Lee Ann has joined him in implementing changes to make his vision of bringing hope to Parchman a reality.
One such change is Visitation. In order to encourage more family visits, which have proven positive impact for everyone involved, Superintendent McClure re-opened the Visitation building (pictured above) near the main entrance and refreshed its two large rooms (see next page). Due to security issues, visitors are not allowed to bring anything into the prison, and those with infants are only allowed to bring four diapers, two bottles, one change of baby clothes, one pacifier and diaper wipes in a zip lock bag.
Last April, when KHM visited Parchman and inquired about specific ways in which we might enhance their work, Mrs. McClure shared their desire to refresh the items available to families for use during visits.
On very short notice, First Baptist Church of Elgin responded to this need! Pictured above are the many bags of books, puzzles, crayons, chalk, toy trucks – and more – they provided. KHM’s Manny and Barbara Mill were privileged to personally deliver these items to Parchman in early August.
Thank you, FBC, for helping to build bridges and restore hope for inmate families!
