South Carolina Baptists made sure every inmate in the state prison system received a Christmas gift this year. The annual Christmas Packets for Prisoners drive collected 24,815 packets, which were placed in the hands of inmates on Dec. 7. The day before, more than 100 volunteers gathered at a collection site to inspect each kit and insert Scripture booklets.
Jan Berrian of the SCBC convention staff tallies the 24,815 prisoner packets, which were transported in heavy-duty laundry bags.Carol Bryan, Edgefield Baptist Association’s Woman’s Missionary Union director and a member of Little Stephens Creek Church, volunteered to help with the collection for the first time this year. “A person is not separated from God just because they are separated from society,” she said, “and this is one way we can show that someone cares about them.”
For safety, and to make sure all inmates received the same items, there were strict guidelines for what the packets contained. Included were a writing tablet, a non-retractable pen, mints, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, pre-stamped envelopes, a Christmas card, and a “Book of Hope” gospel booklet written especially for prisoners.
Dozier, one of more than 25 inmates who helped at the collection site at St. Andrews Church in Columbia, said, “It is a privilege for me to be here and to have the opportunity to give back. When people say Jesus loves us, now I know what they mean and believe that they care about us on the outside.”
Wearing a tan jumpsuit, Stanley, another inmate, worked to move the laundry bags filled with prisoner packets and load them onto trucks. He received one of those packets the next day. “It is uplifting to me to be a part of this,” he said. “It has made me feel like I am part of society again and that people care about me,” he said.
According to Reid White, clinical chaplain with the department of corrections, the invitation to help with the packet collection is an honor and a ministry opportunity for the inmates. “Most inmates don’t receive anything for Christmas. It means a lot to know that South Carolina Baptists made sacrifices to give and support this cause,” White said.
A volunteer at the collection site, Michael, spoke of the joy he felt after receiving a gift while he was incarcerated as a child. “I remember being told that some gifts and a Christmas tree I was given were from a group from a Baptist association, and it really made an impression on me,” he said. “Somebody went to the effort to give something to someone they did not even know – just like these packets – which is something an inmate will never forget.”
“This is one of the most important impacts we have,” said Kay Leagans, missions mobilization director, Laurens Baptist Association. Churches in her association provide and deliver packets to juvenile inmates each year. “This is one way we can get into prisons every year and say to each person there, ‘We love you.’ The gospel message changes people and makes a difference in their lives.” – SCBC
Volunteers from churches inspect packets before inserting a Christmas card and Scripture booklet.