Exerpts of this article was orginally written for Vine & Branches, a newsletter by Rachel's Vineyard, which specializes in abortion recovery retreats all over the nation. You can find out more about them at Rachel's Vineyard (rachelsvineyard.org).
Written by Mary Peterson
Prison...The word conjures up images of long, steely-cold corridors outlined with barred cell doors. Of anger and despair hanging in the air like dense fog. Of an oppressive silence punctuated by intermittent echoes of profanity.
It’s the last place most people would want to visit.
But for Carrie Mann and Debra Morrall, it’s the first. These Central Texas Rachel’s Vineyard leaders are “honored to serve the ladies in white.”
Yes, the prison they visit every week for at least two hours is one for women. “They are in a difficult season,” Carrie says with pain in her eyes. “Some of their stories are horrific.” Sexual and physical abuse, sex trafficking, drugs, and prostitution are common denominators in their histories or those of their family members. Unfortunately, these themes have punctuated the lives of many incarcerated women.
According to the Center for American Progress, “A reported 85 to 90 percent of women who are either currently incarcerated or under the control of the justice system in the United States have a history of domestic and sexual abuse.”[1] The National Institute of Justice confirms this claim, stating “Females follow unique pathways into the criminal justice system compared to males. Researchers have documented differences in family histories of dysfunction, substance use, co-occurring disorders, and victimization, all of which are associated with criminal justice involvement. Histories of sexual abuse and trauma are especially overrepresented in the female incarcerated population.”[2] The Prison Policy Initiative asserts that more than half of the crimes for which women were incarcerated were drug- and property-offenses - and that violent offenses “occurred in response to gendered violence and abuse.”
These statistics paint a bleak picture for incarcerated women. But God can reach people no matter where they are – even when they’re behind bars or formidable prison walls. And He’s working through Rachel’s Vineyard in dramatic ways to heal these ladies in white.
Just ask Carrie and Debra.
“It’s such an honor and pleasure to be with them,” Carrie exclaims. “If you could only be in there with us, you would understand. They’re in such a dark place, but God transforms their lives. He provides a way, even in incarceration.”
Carrie then talks about a young woman who is serving a life sentence without parole. When Julie[4] first decided to attend a Rachel’s Vineyard retreat, she sat in the room with an air of defiance and her arms crossed. But God softened her heart just enough for her to return for the next session. And then the next. Now, having finished the program, Julie is a changed person. She has even become a facilitator in the Bible Study program.
And she has said on more than one occasion that had she remained on the streets, she wouldn’t be alive today. She fully believes that God allowed her to be incarcerated to save her life – and her soul. When Carrie first heard Julie say that, she exclaimed, “So what I’m hearing you say is, God set you free, even in the midst of incarceration?” Julie responded with a smile and firmness in her voice, “Yes, He did.”
So even behind bars, she is truly free. She is finally healed. And she is helping other women who are hurting from their traumas.
“It’s phenomenal,” Carrie remarks. “When you’re serving a life sentence, what’s stopping you from wreaking havoc? But no, she chose to be open to receive what God had for her. And now she can speak to that, pour life and hope into others, and lead them to Him.”
Just as He reached into prison and touched Julie’s heart, she has reached out, touched the hearts of her family, and has been reconciled to her parents, siblings, and children.
This affects generations,” Carrie observes. “Rachel’s Vineyard doesn’t just help with abortion and pregnancy loss. It opens the women up to receive all the things God wants to heal. They’re receiving what they’ve needed—some since childhood. And it ripples out. It affects the whole family system.”
It also affects the other inmates. They watch as the women who attend Rachel’s Vineyard become less angry, stop fighting, and begin encouraging others. Their actions, words, and demeanor begin to change. They become a sign of hope – of possibility – that maybe, just maybe, the hearts and lives of the other inmates can be changed, too.
One young lady came to the program knowing she needed Rachel’s Vineyard. “She was desperate,” Carrie relates. “Desperate. She was ready and willing to do the work.”
And it is “work” to be open and vulnerable to one another and to God – especially for someone who has experienced a history of abuse. Carrie and Debra value their vulnerability and foster a respect for one another within the program.
We don’t know what these women have dealt with.” Carrie says. “So we make sure they know that they’re safe with us and that they’re never judged. We accept them where they are. We’re there to listen.”
During the 10- to 12-week retreat (versus a weekend retreat, which is the typical Rachel’s Vineyard model), the women continually experience that safety, that acceptance, that lack of judgement. And they look forward to seeing Carrie and Debra every week.
“We see their excitement. And they’re so thankful that we took the time out of our day to come and be with them.,” Carrie expresses.
Debra, who is relatively new to the Prison Ministry side of Rachel’s Vineyard, shares what she witnessed on her first week:
I saw the fruits of the labor, of laying the groundwork for relationships, of showing up week after week after week. The ladies don’t take it for granted. When we walked in, there were tears, there were embraces, and people saying, ‘I missed you so much!’ That is what I saw before we even started anything. And I didn’t feel like I was on the outside looking in, I felt accepted. They were so welcoming, even to me, a newcomer.
She then says, smiling, “I’m big on boundaries and being invited. And I’m pretty sure I left that first week with a couple of hugs.”
Debra and Carrie are also very respectful of the ladies’ privacy. “The conversations I’m privileged to have with people is honoring,” Debra articulates. “It’s sacred. When somebody bares everything, that’s a sacred privilege, and we have to make sure that we know how to handle it, protect it, and guard it.”
Carrie nods and adds, “It’s such a blessing. Sometimes we’re filling the role of mothers, or grandmothers, or aunts, or sisters. So many times, someone will come up afterwards and say, ‘I didn’t have a mom growing up, so I look at you kind of like a mom.’ That breaks your heart, but it also makes you feel like, ‘Wow, God, look at how you used me for her. You love them all so much.’ And He is helping them, healing them, setting them free, and teaching them how to walk in His forgiveness and freedom. So they take that and run with it.”
Apparently, Governor Greg Abbott of Texas agrees. On April 26, 2024, Rachel’s Vineyard was honored with the Most Innovative Program Award during the 29th Annual Governor’s Criminal Justice Volunteer Service Awards. The program was praised as “an innovative eight-week course designed to help female inmates heal from past experiences with abortion, stillbirth, SIDS, child protective services (CPS) involvement, or personal injury to a child.”
Both Carrie and Debra describe themselves as “beyond blessed and honored to receive the Governor’s award for our Prison Ministry,” while quickly pointing to Lovette Vassar as the person who deserves all the credit. She brought Rachel’s Vineyard Retreats to the Hope Pregnancy Centers back in 2009, and in 2017, she worked with Dr. Theresa Burke, the founder of Rachel’s Vineyard, to help bring the retreat into prison.[5] They modified facets of the retreat, like using battery-operated candles instead of wick-burning ones and scheduling the Living Scripture Exercises into a weekly format, to ensure the program would remain powerfully Spirit-led.
Given the light, healing, and transformation imprisoned women are receiving through Rachel’s Vineyard, it’s clear that neither cell bars, prison walls, nor steel doors can separate them from the love of God. They can even become more united to Him than the rest of the population. As Carrie points out, “Some of the women on the inside of prison are actually more free than the ones outside. It’s just miraculous.”
That shouldn’t surprise us. Miracles are God’s specialty.
Sources:
[3] www.prisonpolicy.org/scans/women_prison.pdf (Amnesty International USA)
[4] We do not know this young woman’s name. In respecting her privacy, neither Carrie nor Debra mentioned it. For clarity in reading the story, we’re referring to her as “Julie.”
[5] One of the first Rachel’s Vineyard team leaders to start a retreat in prison is Donna Gardner, who brought the Ministry to post-abortive male inmates. At our 2018 Conference, she offered a session on discernment and how to implement and facilitate a Prison Ministry program. We highlighted Donna’s story in December of 2023; you can read it here.
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