God's work on the block

by Kevin Cullen

Globe Columnist / November 26, 2009

That’s no joke. Thirty-two of them do it every day, into all of the prisons in Massachusetts.

But two weeks ago, Mike Grunko, the president of Local 509 of the Service Employees International Union, got a phone call from the Department of Correction.

“They said they were going to lay off 19 of the 32 chaplains, effective the end of December,’’ Grunko said.

You know the state budget crisis is really bad when they start whacking people who subcontract for God.

“I don’t think it’s a very good idea,’’ said Mike Grunko. “These chaplains do a very good job at keeping people calm, at giving them hope, at changing lives for the better. They are an important presence not just for the inmates, but for the people who work at the prisons, too.’’

Mark Hemenway, president of New England Prison Ministries, said getting those who have robbed, raped, and killed to a better place spiritually is more than the right thing to do; it’s cost-effective. He said studies show inmates in prison ministry programs are less likely to reoffend.

Hemenway said the 32 paid chaplains also recruit and oversee nearly 1,000 people from faith-based communities who volunteer to help in prison programs free of charge.

“Massachusetts has always been considered something of a model in this area,’’ said Hemenway.

Still, as much as he is a pastor and man of the cloth, Hemenway’s eyes are not covered by that cloth.

“Doing something positive for prisoners isn’t going to win any popularity contests. Some people don’t want to do anything that they perceive as helping someone convicted of a crime,’’ he said. “But the bottom line is that 97 percent of people who go to prison get out of prison. It’s in all our interests that they come out of prison in a better place spiritually than when they went in.’’

The chaplains make between $40,000 and $50,000 a year.

“Or,’’ as Pastor Hemenway put it, “about what it costs to keep someone locked up for a year.’’

Mike Grunko, the union guy, is the ultimate pragmatist: He is a Jewish Quaker.

“I was raised a Jew in Bangor, Maine, but I went to a Quaker meeting and things changed,’’ he said.

But the layoff list, based on seniority, created a divine headache. Seniority doesn’t take into account denominational diversity. The two rabbis have seniority, but seven of the nine Catholic chaplains are on the layoff list. The sole Nation of Islam chaplain is on the layoff list. Five Muslim chaplains and six Protestants are on the list, too.

“The chaplains are a very sympathetic group, but they were never very good at advocating for themselves,’’ Grunko said. “These are people who are always advocating for others.’’

Hemenway, who oversees Protestant ministers in the prisons, organized a letter-writing campaign, asking people to plead with Harold Clarke, the Department of Correction commissioner, to cancel the layoffs.

Hemenway said the chaplains aren’t just relying on letters and petitions and phone calls. “We’re praying, too,’’ he said.

Yesterday, I called the Department of Correction and spoke to a very nice lady named Cara Savelli, who works for Harold Clarke. I asked why they were getting rid of most of the chaplains, and she said she’d look into it and get back to me. She called back about an hour later and said none of the chaplains will be laid off, after all. Must have been the power of prayer.

Kevin Cullen is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at cullen@globe.com.

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