The Ministry Continues: A Special Feature on COTK’s Prison Ministry
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All beautiful things come from humble beginnings. It all started with a simple desire to reach out to others - that being actualized by personal visits to the Correctional Institute for Women (CIW) initiated by the late Fr. Manny Melendrez during the mid 90s. He went there to evangelize and to bring hope to the people who have suffered months to years in isolation. The late Sis Yolly Velasco also carried that same desire in her heart to share the word to these women. Both of these beautiful people are still remembered by the other Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDLs) in the CIW up to the present.
Those personal, spontaneous visits did not end in vain. Rather, those little acts of kindness gave birth to an even greater ministry that is still evident until today. Continuing the legacy that both Fr. Manny and Sis Yolly have left in their respective lives, several people from the Cathedral of the King responded to the call of a commitment to the PDLs of CIW...hence, the existence of the Prison Ministry.
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