Your presence is “an opportunity to let someone know someone cares, even more than they know.” Willie L. Templeton Jr., Program Coordinator/Chaplain
The Seeds of Grace team leads a weekly program at the Montgomery County Jail called “Sacred Stories.” Once again, our jail is in the news. On July 19 the Dayton Daily Newsran a front-page article with the headline, “County jail told to fix serious staffing, overcrowding issues.”
The article detailed how serious the overcrowding is: “Pods designed to house 48 inmates now house 104.” There is a serious staff shortage and, according to the newspaper, there is a 30 percent per year turnover rate. These factors result in stress for those who work in the jail, distress for those incarcerated there, inconvenience for those who volunteer there, and increased risk for everybody.
Volunteering in the jail is an exercise in patience. Sometimes we wait in the hallway 15 minutes to get into the classroom. Twice, after a long wait, we were finally told that no one had a list of participants, so we just went home. Sometimes we have had to wait for what seems like a very long time to leave the classroom when class is over because no officer has been available to come unlock the door, let us out, and take the inmates back to their pods or cells. Once they didn’t even answer the intercom for much too long when I buzzed to let them know we were done.
Enter Officer Willie L. Templeton Jr., or as he prefers to be called, Willie. He is the Program Coordinator and Chaplain for the jail. He takes our problems seriously and has addressed them successfully, often by taking on extra responsibility himself. At the monthly meetings he runs for jail volunteers, he keeps us informed about the staffing shortage, so at least we know the source of these problems, even before reading the newspaper.
Willie also counsels us at these meetings with wisdom garnered from years of experience, common sense, and a truly Christian approach to his work. He is the embodiment of a disciple who takes Jesus’ teaching to heart about being as wise as a serpent and as gentle as a dove. Willie teaches us: “Don’t let inmates behind you, or look down or around like you’re afraid. Don’t attack a certain group, or lifestyle, or way someone raises their children. Don’t be confrontational. Just preach the Gospel. There’s no need to offend anyone.”
In five years I have never had occasion to be afraid in the jail, but I listen when Willie says, “There is always the potential of something going wrong.” I consider what risk there might be part of the cost of discipleship.
I also take to heart Willie’s blessing: “Be encouraged to keep doing what you’re doing for the Kingdom,” and his promise, “Every now and then God will give us a little peek to see what a difference this work makes.” I have found that promise to be true, despite whatever problems might make the news.