Former female inmates from Massachusetts are receiving a little extra help this holiday season, thanks to St. John’s Episcopal Church of Ashfield, according to the Christian Post.
The congregation started a ministry called “Love in a Backpack” that supplies former inmates with three bags of items packed into a backpack. One bag contains personal care items and toiletries; another, food and water; and a third, a Bible and a hand-written note of encouragement.
“We have experienced the joy of doing God’s work through our hands, serving the women most in need during a fragile and scary transition time,” said Mary Link, who helps lead the ministry. “Several other churches and groups have partnered with us each year, helping us increase the number of backpacks we can pull together to provide for the women. Some partners just collect packs or toiletries, others fill three or more whole packs.”
Women who are released from prison have little to live from. “She has the clothes on her back and a small stipend for transportation,” according to the ministry’s website.
“Love in a Backpack” began after the church discovered that former inmates struggled for basic needs after release from prison. A ministry existed for men but none for the women, so the church set to work. The first year, the group provided 32 backpacks. Both last year and this year, they have…
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