West Virginia Episcopal Area

Mission and Ministry
Amber Blankenship shows off a tattoo honoring Kairos Prison Ministry, a program which she credits with changing her life while she was incarcerated at the Lakin Correctional Center in West Columbia, W.Va. “I told God that if he would heal my broken heart, I would go wherever he wanted me to go, and I have served him every day since,” she said. She and her husband, Aaron Blankenship, are standing in front of a mosaic depicting the Transfiguration of Christ that stands behind the altar at Wesley Chapel at the West Virginia United Methodist Conference Center in Charleston. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Faith communities can aid transition from prison

Churches and other faith-based groups can provide resources for the formerly incarcerated as well as help reduce the stigma attached to a criminal record.
Mission and Ministry
Anthony (foreground), who is incarcerated at the St. Marys Correctional Center in St. Marys, W.Va., says he tries to serve as a role model for new inmates at the facility after seeing the transformation brought about by the Kairos Prison Ministry. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Prison ministries transform inmates, volunteers

Kairos Prison Ministry, similar to an Emmaus Walk, brings volunteers into prisons to minister to inmates, while Catalyst Ministries trains the inmates to minister to one another and to the prison administration.
Social Concerns
A train loaded with coal sits on the tracks inside the now-bankrupt mining company Blackjewel's former Black Mountain mining complex. United Methodist churches have stepped up to offer food, school supplies and help with utility bills to out-of-work miners. Photo by Charles Mostoller/Reuters photo

Churches step up to help unemployed miners

After the sudden bankruptcy of the Blackjewel mining company last month, United Methodists are helping with food, utility bills, school supplies and information.
Evangelism
Wayne Worth (right) embraces Roger outside his home in Fisher, W.Va. Worth, a member of United Methodist Temple in Clarksburg, was passing out flyers containing information about local resources for anyone struggling with addiction, when he met Roger.

Outreach ministry for addiction is simple, effective

For the cost of a ream of paper and some printer ink, a United Methodist layperson in West Virginia is confronting his state’s opioid epidemic one door at a time.

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