Books to Prisons Ministry reminds inmates they are remembered

The cozy library on the first floor of Canterbury United Methodist Church is, by turns, a place of quiet and celebration, of laughter and tears, of hard work and good times.

The Birmingham church's Books to Prisons Ministry serves inmate populations in the state and nationwide by providing books and magazines via U.S. Mail. Hundreds of paperback books and magazines vetted by volunteers line sturdy metal shelves donated by the Birmingham Public Library. Local branches also donate many books and perform inservice volunteer hours with the ministry.

Donated reading material waiting to be checked is stored in a large closet across the hall. "There's an approval process," said volunteer Dale Turnbough. "We keep binders about what is and is not accepted in different prison systems. And then we have to check them for quality." After the vetting process, books are added to the shelves.

Inmates write letters to request books. Sometimes, they request by title. Many have favorite authors. Others love a particular genre. "We see patterns of reading. For a while, we received a lot of requests for mythology. Right now, Westerns are flying off the shelves," said Shannon Wadlington, lead volunteer. "We cannot keep enough Westerns in stock."

The cycle might change, but mysteries, horror, trades, self-help and psychology books are continually requested.

Once requests are received, the volunteers package the books, keeping an eye on the weight. They send multiple books and magazines in each package to make the most of the roughly $1,000 spent in monthly postage. Six to eight hundred packages per month are sent by media mail, with three to four pieces of reading material inside. Even better is the handwritten note included in each one.
 

A pathway to relationships

A wonderful byproduct of all the sorting, stacking, organizing and cataloging is the bonds that form. Readers start addressing their requests to particular volunteers as friendships spring up. "They are so grateful," said Turnbough. "They can't thank us enough. It's a good feeling to open a letter you can respond to with something you have that means so much to someone." Although the inmates write multi-page letters, which sometimes include colorful drawings and intricate decorations or fancy lettering, the volunteers are limited to one side of a small page printed with the Books to Prison logo across the top. The back of the page is a receipt for the books sent with it.

"Six retired librarians have found their way here," said Turnbough, herself one of the six. "I have been volunteering here for about a year. This is a well-oiled machine. I am amazed at the time devoted by all the volunteers."

Margaret Hudson, another retired librarian, loves the thank-you letters they receive. "It's very heartwarming to know you're giving somebody joy through a book," she said.

Wadlington has a pen pal of sorts in Buzzy, a prison resident in Texas. He requested a specific book by author Mark Greany. She happened to know the book was the first in a series, so she sent Buzzy three books so he'd have them all. "He was ecstatic," she said. She was telling another volunteer about it, and that volunteer had gone to school with the author's wife. When the fourth book in the series came out in paperback, they were able to obtain a copy of the book signed by the author for Buzzy.
 

Creating a network of support

Rachel Estes, Director of Outreach at Canterbury, acknowledges that the Books to Prison Ministry has its challenges. "Most of our books go to Texas," she says, "because the rules are more stringent here in Alabama." She is working on several different fronts to make the process smoother, including making contacts with prison officials, applying to become a certified vendor for state prisons and seeking advocates for positive reform. "The standards for shipping used books to Alabama prisons are very high," she says. "There are a lot of layers to this work."

Estes is happy to point out that the women's group at Canterbury is using the 2024 reading program of United Women in Faith with inmates who participate in a monthly book discussion group she leads at Birmingham Work Release, a satellite of Tutwiler Prison for Women. "The inmates get a certificate for completing the program, just like the women at Canterbury," Estes said.

Creating and cultivating partnerships is vital. The Alabama Appleseed Center for Law and Justice is one of the most important. Volunteers who have put in many hours of work with the Books to Prisons Ministry are themselves former inmates who understand the importance of the ministry's work. "All these men are so good to work with," said Wadlington. "It's amazing and inspiring to meet them. They recommend us to their friends!"

In addition to the public libraries and Alabama Appleseed, other nonprofits and local businesses donate books, send employees for inservice opportunities and make cash contributions for postage, packaging and other costs incurred by the ministry.

The volunteers find joy in their work, and it's an infectious joy that spreads in unlikely ways. The local postal carrier has become a true partner. "Rick Crocker is the best," said Wadlington. "We met with him when we started out, and he has been agreeable from the start. We realize it is extra work for him to pick up all these packages. And we are all friends now. We hear his family stories. We pray for each other." She considers this a ripple effect of the relationship-building so vital to successful ministry.

The Books to Prisons Ministry seeks all sorts of relationships and partners. Check their Instagram and Facebook accounts to keep up, or send an email if you are interested in living the story of Jesus through this work.