New Philadelphia Moravian Church fundraising dinner

Over 170 people attended the April 13th event and enjoyed a delicious dinner along with music from the New Philadelphia Beracah Choir and the Cherry Street Ensemble Inmate Choir. Over $17,000 was raised to support the Moravian Chaplain position within the Forsyth Jail and Prison Ministry!

One highlight of the evening was a testimony from Lamonte, a man who just earlier that day had been released from the Cherry Street Prison. He knew about the upcoming fundraiser, so he went home and then made the hour-long trip back to Winston-Salem just so he could perform with the inmate choir and share a few words with us about what the prison ministry, and in particular Robert Wolfe, had meant to him during his incarceration. Prior to his release, Lamonte completed the Transition to Work program offered at the McGee Hedgley Chapel, and he was a graduate of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People class, Financial Peace University, and the job skills class.

Are you considering a fundraiser at your own church? Please contact us at fmprisonministry.com or jone@fjpm.org.

TRAVIS AND EVVA HANES

THE FMPM HAS BEEN BLESSED with many people supporting this ministry with their time, talent, and treasure, and two of those people are Travis and Evva Hanes. Capitalizing on the fact that Moravians like to eat delicious food and share in fellowship, the Haneses have generously hosted several dinners at their home, raising more than $15,000 for the Moravian Chaplaincy position in 2014. So far this year, they have 10 dinners planned for 148 lucky guests who purchased tickets to have a seat at their table. The 2015 dinners have raised $4,530 to-date for the FMPM. Travis and Evva, we can’t thank you enough for your generosity with your time and talent! You both have definitely been blessed with the gift of hospitality!

FULP MORAVIAN CHURCH

FULP MORAVIAN comes to the prison each year to assist Chaplain Wolfe with a Sunday night worship service. Donald Brown and volunteers bring special music, refreshments, and an abiding love for “the least of these.” We invite your church to consider volunteering. It’s difficult to know who is blessed more—the volunteers or the inmates!

GIVING BACK

AN EX-OFFENDER who was paroled two years ago stopped by the FJPM office to donate clothes. Following God’s call to give to those in need!

dessert, anyone?

ENERGIZED BY THE SUCCESS of the 2014 dessert theater, Friedberg Moravian Church hosted a second fundraiser in March 2015 that blended the best cakes in the county with good ol’ gospel music provided by the Cherry Street Inmate Choir. There was a live and silent auction and performances by the provincial brass band and the Friedburg choir. Thanks to the generosity of many, over $12,000 was raised to support the Moravian Chaplaincy position.

SHARING THE WARMTH OF CHRIST'S LOVE

MARGIE LAMB, member of Fries Moravian Church and the FMPM Steering Committee, donated 120 blankets for inmate's children. Margie is the local coordinator for the Linus Project and was featured as the Local Hero in the November 2015 issue of the Winston-Salem Monthly magazine. These blankets were carefully crafted by compassionate people in the area and were given to inmates' children who need to feel warm and loved.

HOLY SPIRIT AT WORK

On December 20th, 2020, the Holy Spirit was apparently putting in some holiday hours, and it was a beautiful thing to witness! Sherry Edwards, former Chair of the Friends of Moravian Prison Ministry, received a call that day from her daughter-in-law who knew of some folks who had purchased a truck-load full of food and wanted to give it away where it could do the most good. Sherry sent out a text to all of her contacts and heard back from Rodney Stilwell, Senior Chaplain of the Forsyth Jail & Prison Ministries, who suggested that the food be delivered to a transitional house. He put her in touch with Bert, an ex-offender and transitional house volunteer, who happily accepted the large load of fresh fruit and vegetables that included grapefruit, tomatoes, grapes, potatoes, green peppers and mandarin oranges. In fact, the donation was too much for one home, so Bert shared the remaining food with another home! The Holy Spirit was truly working through Sherry, Chaplain Stilwell, and Bert that day to provide a Christmas blessing to these men and make them feel precious and loved.