By By Adrienne McKenzie
When driving by the Atmore Community Work Center, area residents will catch a glimpse of inmates with hammers, shovels and nail guns constructing a new chapel for themselves and their peers.
The Atmore Community Work Center is located off of Hwy. 21 and holds approximately 250 inmates. The center's current chapel only holds about 20 inmates whereas the new chapel will be 40X60 in size and will hold around 75 inmates.
The We Care Program is one that offers a Christian ministry to criminal offenders. The new chapel has been an idea of the We Care staff for a couple of years but is just now in the making, according to the facility's warden Sylvester Folks.
"It took over two years on this project to get it up and running," Folks said. "We started in February of 2005."
Folks, along with vice president and business manager of the We Care Program, Don Metzler; chaplain Ed Ranck; project manager Dean Miller; Sgt. Luverne Pierce; Lt. Patricia Myers and correctional officer trainee, Justin Green, broke ground on the project Tuesday morning.
According to Metzler, the inmates will have their hands in the construction process.
"The inmates will build the new chapel themselves," Metzler said.
Folks said the chapel will be a space where inmates can visit for religious educational programs including Bible studies. The chapel will have a library and area for worship also. The warden believes that with the larger building, the community will be more likely to become involved in helping teach the inmates about God.
"There will be more community involvement now that there is a decent place to come out to," Folks said.
Having this program is important for the inmates, Folks said.
"Having a religious program is very valuable inside any penal institute in the United States," Folks said. "Religion and finding God changes our lives."
Ranck said that because the facility is completely funded by a Christian ministry, it will show the inmates that people in the community care about their well being.
"Not only will this be a place for them to worship," Ranck said. "But since it was financed totally by free world Christians, it will be a symbol that people on the street care about them. It is a testimony for the inmates that people care about their spiritual needs."
Folks said the chapel should be completed by the end of this year for prisoners to worship in and to display their faith.