St. Bart's partners with New Hope House in death row ministry

St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church is pleased to announce that our ongoing collaboration with New Hope House has resulted in a generous grant from the Episcopal Community Foundation for Middle and North Georgia. The funding provided a new minivan for New Hope House to support their ministry to Georgia’s death row prisoners and their families.

Purchased last November, the 2022 Toyota Sienna Hybrid has “everything we were hoping for,” said New Hope House executive director Mary Catherine Johnson, including optimum fuel efficiency, exceptional safety features, a smooth ride, and plenty of room for up to six passengers or precious cargo like 40 Christmas boxes for death row prisoners. “I felt so joyful as I drove the new Sienna for the first time, thinking of all the ways that it would used in service to God's people on death row and their families,” Mary Catherine remarked on the day she purchased the van.

St. Bartholomew’s has engaged with New Hope House since 2015; parishioners have written, and in some cases, visited death row prisoners in Georgia. For the past three years, St. Bartholomew’s has contributed to Christmas gift boxes, filled with items such as socks, soap, writing pads, and holiday treats, to people on Georgia’s death row. Parishioners also attend the execution vigils outside the prison where executions are carried out in Jackson, and in downtown Atlanta and Decatur.

The Rector of St. Bartholomew’s, the Rev. Dr. Angela Shepherd, said that visiting New Hope House was an eye-opening experience: “words captured on their website suddenly came to life as Mary Catherine talked about support offered to families near and far. St. Bart’s welcomes the opportunity to expand our commitment to New Hope House and we appreciate ECF’s extension of a grant. The fact that a hybrid minivan was purchased in advance of rising gas prices is evidence of the Holy Spirit always working towards the good!”

“We are deeply grateful to ECF for supporting this literal vehicle for change, allowing us to expand our efforts to assist prisoners and their families,” said Susan Casey, a parishioner who also serves on the New Hope House Board of Directors. “We look forward to finding more ways for St. Bartholomew’s and New Hope House to work together to heed Jesus’s call to visit and care for those who are imprisoned and their families.”

Reflecting on St. Bartholomew’s ongoing connection with New Hope House, parishioner Neva Corbin concluded that “there is no doubt that our parishioners have grown spiritually through our involvement in outreach to prisoners and engagement with what the death penalty looks like in our society, and the way we treat those society has deemed ‘the worst of the worst.’ Being involved in efforts coordinated by New Hope House has opened our eyes to the power of God’s grace and redemption.”

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About New Hope House

New Hope House is a Christian ministry founded in 1988 that offers hospitality to families of people on Georgia’s death row and support to family members involved in capital trials. They also visit people on death row and in other prisons, and work to replace the death penalty with just alternatives. Please visit www.newhopehousega.org.

About Episcopal Community Foundation for Middle and North Georgia

Following Christ’s example and the tradition of The Episcopal Church, the Episcopal Community Foundation for Middle and North Georgia provides funding, leadership, and resources to enable Episcopalians to lift up people facing poverty and oppression and to achieve significant, long-lasting change in our communities. Please visit episcopalcommunityfoundation.org.

About St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church

Founded in 1954, St. Bartholomew’s is a parish in the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta. We open our doors to all who seek God or a deeper knowledge of God. Worship is the center of our community’s life together, and the Eucharist is the center of our worship. We have programs for children, youth, young adults, adults and seniors, all of which provide a perfect place to ‘jump-in’. We are inclusive, welcoming and always pleased to see new faces. Please visit stbartsatlanta.org.