STEVENSVILLE-DEER LODGE — Last month, the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Helena consecrated the altar at the newly-renovated St. Mary Parish in Stevensville.
It was a special moment as St. Mary's transformation occurred with help from Montana State Prison (MSP) inmates through a work program that gives them the opportunity to get "outside" of the prison walls and live a normal life for a day. These workshops are on MSP's grounds.
WATCH CYNTHIA CARRANZA'S FULL REPORT BELOW:
"Their work is right here present where we meet and pray, we worship God," Fr. David Severson, St. Mary's pastor, said.
St. Mary Parish is not the same church it was just a few months ago. The church received a facelift with help from the hands of inmates at work for Montana Correctional Enterprises (MCE), a bureau of the Department of Corrections that is headquartered near the prison in Deer Lodge.
“We're the prison industries programs," Jonadel Ehret, MCE's production manager, said. "The furniture and upholstery shops at the Montana State Prison facility in Deer Lodge are the ones that worked on this project.”
The project included building 38 pews and an ambo.
"We basically gave them examples of what we wanted and they just basically gave us drawings and just spot on," Fr. Severson said. "Like I said, exceeds my expectation."
The inmate workers also built two altars, the altar of sacrifice and the back altar, that are both made of alder wood.
"Very special that these men made this," Fr. Severson added about the altars. "Rediscovering their dignity and here is where the word of God is proclaimed."
Once all of the materials were gathered, the parish project took the MCE inmate workers around seven months to build.
“I'm not the best builder out here. I haven't even been out here that long and so with everybody's help we were able to get it done," Clem Williams, an MCE inmate worker, said. "And so I really appreciated that. And so out here in this program, I don't feel like I'm in prison for eight hours a day."
Tammy Finley is MCE's industries director who oversaw much of the building process.
“I believed they could get it done and it just took a little prodding here and there," she said. "You could see with every step that they just got way more confident and they were eager to get it done and by the end they were just so proud."
"It just came together so well. Seeing it, it’s emotional, like it’s just so beautiful," Finley added.
Some tasks for Joel St. Germain included the building of two altars. This was a process that came naturally, he told MTN.
“I have a bad case of dyslexia, so it's hard for me to look at stuff and wanna to read, but I could look at something and build it," St. Germain said.
MCE gives inmates on-the-job training ranging in everything from woodworking to farming where they develop work ethic and self-esteem from their accomplishments. It's a privilege every inmate wants, but not a privilege every inmate gets.
“I was very excited when they told me that I was coming out here because I was working in the kitchen at the time and then they transferred me out here and I was just overjoyed just to come out and actually get to work here," Donald Garza, the MCE inmate worker who handled the upholstery for the pews, said.
For other inmate workers, the project was a chance to give back, despite their restrictions.
"It reminds us that we are still people. We can still do good," Doug Reinert said. "For our family, our friends, our community, including the community that we build in here."
The project was for the public, but made behind prison walls.
“We've all made bad decisions, right?" Fr. Severson said. "And we all get second chances. And so the inmates that are able to do this, it's such a blessing to us that we can be recipients of their artwork.”
The work does not end here. After the success of the St. Mary Parish project, other churches have reached out for the inmates to build more pews in the future.
You can read more about MCE's programs and services by visiting here.
