GraceInside Expanding Chaplaincy Hours in 2025

I am pleased to share that to date in 2025, GraceInside has expanded chaplaincy hours at Red Onion, Wallen’s Ridge, Beaumont, and CVCU#13. We plan to expand hours further at Coffeewood, Haynesville, and Green Rock in the weeks to come.

In June and August, GraceInside added two Special Assignment Chaplains who serve the Restorative Housing population at Wallens Ridge State Prison. This is only possible because of the support of a donor who carries a vision to expand our ministry presence at Wallens Ridge. We have the platform and structure for this ministry, and our donors make it possible to expand our reach!

GraceInside is within a couple of weeks of commissioning Luis Medrano to be a third Special Assignment chaplain for the Hispanic populations at Coffeewood and Haynesville. In March, I did a site visit to Haynesville Correctional Center with Luis, who had been a volunteer at Coffeewood since 2019 and wanted to expand his ministry to Haynesville. During our introductory visit, Chaplain Lisa Brown called several inmate leaders of the Hispanic church to her office to meet with Luis. One of the gentlemen immediately teared up, and said in Spanish “la iglesia aqui ha estado orando por un pastor.” “The church here has been praying for a pastor!” We are in the midst of bringing him on staff as our first chaplain for the Hispanic population, made possible by a matching grant of $40,000. We are actively raising money to be able to sustain Luis Medrano’s ministry for years to come. Please consider contributing to this fund so we can take advantage of these matching funds.

GraceInside continues to be “Sent by the Church to nurture faith and hope in Virginia’s prisons.” As a Chaplain, I understood my work to be an expression of the wider church’s call to remember those in prison. Now, as the Executive Director, my work has shifted to reminding the churches of Virginia that all of us have a stake in a vibrant, well supported GraceInside prison ministry. Thank you for your financial and prayerful support of our chaplains, and for sharing in our call to remember those in prison.