A Wednesday night this close to Christmas at Rayburn could only mean one thing: the annual Christmas Banquet provided to the men by our Catholic volunteers from Mary Queen of Peace Parish in Mandeville with a nice assist from the volunteers from Annunciation Parish in Bogalusa and even our newest volunteers from St. Joseph Parish in Ponchatoula. I was blown away tonight that 110 men were in attendance, by far our largest number of inmates participating. These men make up the vast number of men who now worship with us every Wednesday night. This is a far cry from the 8-10 men who worshipped with us in the beginning of this ministry and even a sharp uptick from the 30-50 we had up to 2-3 years ago. There is a mighty move of God present at Rayburn within our Catholic Community.
Tonight the men were able to enjoy salad, chicken fingers with various dipping sauces, macaroni and cheese, ham, rice with sausage, dinner rolls and soft drinks and tea. For desert, how about Christmas decorated King Cakes, donuts and sweet rolls, ice cream and chocolate syrup. Wow!
After dinner one of the volunteers read the Christmas Gospel from St. Luke and the men led us in a beautifully sung rendition of Silent Night. The men than asked all the volunteers and clergy to stand in front and each one of us was presented with many beautiful and heartfelt gifts; a book of Christmas reflections from Scripture, a journal and ink pen, both with beautiful Scripture verses about thankfulness, a Guardian Angel visor pin for our cars, to protect us as we drive long distances to Rayburn and a beautiful card signed by all the men. All of us were overwhelmed by the gesture and blown away by their thoughtfulness. How they managed to afford this for all the volunteers, in excess of 20 people now, is a true Christmas miracle.
By far, this evening is the highlight of the men's Christmas experience. Separated from family and friends, this is the closest thing to a celebration of Christmas, especially from a Catholic perspective, these men will enjoy. Some may not even hear from their own families.
So a great night for these 110 inmates from the Catholic Community at Rayburn but an even greater night for all our Catholic volunteers, and the clergy, who are honored to serve God by serving these men from Rayburn Prison.
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