Monday, July 6, 2015

Urgent Need! Visit the Imprisoned with the Liturgy of the Hours!

Back in April I wrote here about the wonderful work of Dismas Ministry, which does all kinds of things to help prisoners, including providing breviaries to interested inmates who complete their course on prayer and and request one.

We decided to make the Coffee&Canticles readership a partner with Dismas Ministry and try to provide the breviaries whenever there is a need. Several of you sent either unused breviaries that you had at home, and others ordered new ones off Barnes and Noble, since they have the lowest price. So we were able to give the gift of the Liturgy of the Hours to a number of prisoners during the Easter season.

Yesterday after returning from holiday travvel,  I saw an email message from Dismas Ministry director Ron Zellinger with this request:

We have a couple requests from inmates, one for a full set of the Liturgy of the Hours, and a coupe who wish the single volume. Do you have any on hand or should I order the full set from Barnes and Noble?

These men are Oblates of St. Benedict as part of a prison outreach of the monks at St. Benedict’s Abbey, Atchison, Kansas. We are collaborating with the monks by providing these single and full volume sets. So wonderful is God’s grace at work in the lives of these inmates.

I look forward to hearing from you. If you do not have sufficient funds our ministry can go ahead and order them. I just thought I would ask you first.

So here is a fantastic opportunity for us to do a beautiful thing once more. Although Ron suggested that he had the funds to buy these himself if need be, it would be a great grace for one or more of us to be able to supply this need, don't you think?  That way the money already in the Dismas account can go for the many other things they do. If you go to their website you'll see what I mean.

So, if any of you want to do this, please let me know at once either here in the comments section, or by my private email which is: thesockeys"At" gmail "dot" com. Then take one of  the following steps: 

1. Go to the "Donate" page at Dismas Ministry. Hit the donate button and donate whatever amount you wish. If you use Pay Pal there is an option to include a message, so write "Coffee&Canticles Breviary Fund" or words to that effect.
OR,

2. If you can afford it, and want to do something more direct and personal, go to    this page at Barnes and Noble, and order the four volume breviary for $118, not forgetting to have it shipped to Dismas  Ministry rather than your own address! That address is: Ron Zeilinger, Dismas Ministry, 3195 S. Superior St. ,  Suite 101L, Milwaukee, WI 53207 Shipping will be free since the order is over $25 for standard  UPS delivery.     I chose Barnes and Noble over other online retailers because so far, this is the best price by far I could find. However, if you have other reasons for using a different  retailer (such as rewards points) then feel free to use them.

3. If $118 is more than you can spare, but $26.81 is not, then buy Dismas Ministry a single-volume, Christian Prayer breviary, also a best buy with free shipping at Barnes and Noble.

4. If you have a spare breviary that you are not using--and it's in nearly new shape--you may send it directly to Dismas Ministry. If using the US Post Office, use the address below:
Dismas Ministry, PO Box 070363, 
Milwaukee, WI 53207.
If instead you use UPS, use the address in #2 above.

If by happy chance we send more breviaries to Dismas Ministry than are needed, fear not. Sooner or later more prisoners will request them.