Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
“How did you get involved with this?” Almost any time I am representing OCPM somewhere, I am asked this question.
As you can maybe imagine, I did not grow up with the Executive Director of Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry on my list of future careers, and when I began with OCPM almost six years ago, I was somewhat apprehensive. I have always known I wanted to serve in the Church, which I thought meant serving the hungry, the poor…but, the prisoner? That’s who God wants me to serve most of all?
I often hear this same sentiment from our volunteers, too. Even for those who do feel this call, they still confess they felt drawn to it as though it were mysterious or inexplicable. Prison ministry is expensive. Try to imagine someone harder to reach than a man or a woman miles away from the rest of society, separated by multiple layers of security–under lock and key. Even when we do invest in the lives of these men and women, we cannot guarantee a true transformation, any more than we can guarantee this with anyone else in the Church.
And yet our Lord tells us plainly: visit Me in prison. There is no way around it. Like our treatment of the poor and the hungry, at the end of our earthly lives we will be judged on this specifically: did we find Christ in the prisoner?
Above: Orthodox icon of The Last Judgment
This New Year, OCPM invites you into something hard and unexpected; we invite you into prison ministry. Join us and find your place at OCPM:
· Pray (we will be launching a new prayer team initiative in just a few weeks)
· Become an OCPM Advocate in your parish
· Join the Matthew 25:36 Fellowship
Like we say at the heart of every Divine Liturgy, “With faith and with love draw near.” This upcoming year, draw near to the broken man with a haunting past. Draw near to the woman unsure if she will see her family again.
Draw near. In them you will find Christ, and together we will be renewed.
Wishing you a blessed 2026,
Nicholas Petrogeorge
Executive Director