Fr. John Chagnon of St. Ignatius Antiochian Orthodox Church in Madison, Wisconsin, has had a heart for people in prison for many years, ever since he personally knew Fr. Duane Pederson, founder of Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry. “I had a natural attraction to both him and his work. He clued me into what prison ministry could look like from a truly Christlike man.”
Once Fr. John was assigned to his home parish, where he found St. Ignatius was one of the few parishes in all of Wisconsin at the time that would receive former offenders. This is how he met Chris, a former inmate who has led “a truly stellar life,” bringing many people to Christ while he was in prison and after his release. “Between Chris and Fr. Duane’s influence on me, I knew prison ministry was essential to the kind of pastor God was asking me to be.” As soon as Fr. John learned of the Certificate Program in Prison Ministry, the one-of-a-kind training ground for Orthodox Christian prison ministry from OCPM and St. Tikhon’s Seminary, he applied immediately.
“I didn’t know if I’d get in,” laughs Fr. John. “But once I got my acceptance letter, I knew God would find a way. I figured if the Lord would open the door, I should just run through it. I trusted the Lord would provide the funds, and He did.” Students in the Certificate Program study virtually January through May before their residency on the campus of St. Tikhon’s Seminary in June. This was Fr. John’s first experience in remote learning, “but I rather enjoyed it. I had a great cohort. After months of working together, you really start to gel with them, so that once it was time for us to come together at St. Tikhon’s, we didn’t have to spend our first days ‘getting to know each other’. We already knew each other. We were ready to serve.” Getting to spend the final residency ministering to men in the prison near St. Tikhon’s made everything Fr. John had been learning more concrete.
“But I want to be clear,” says Fr. John, “that even if I never went into another prison, I know the Certificate Program still would have been worth it. In these classes, in this community, you’re developing an Orthodox phronema (mindset) about people, grace, salvation, service. Prison ministry affects all of this. The only way for us to learn the teachings of the Church is to serve. There are all kinds of people nowadays who talk about how bad the world is, but what the Church needs now is people in whatever arena to get up and do something about it. Offer yourself to God as a doer. You don’t have to be afraid. It it’s God’s will for you to serve, He will provide the way, the strength, and the protection.”
Under Fr. John’s leadership St. Ignatius Orthodox Church is now exploring new ways to serve those incarcerated near them. “I’m hoping our parish will be a trailblazer for other parishes in the area to join us in this work, to see this work as holy and good. The ability to be able to say truly, ‘Yes, Lord. You were in prison and I visited you,’ is worth whatever work that requires.”