Prison Ministry

Christian Science churches across the U.S. provide volunteer chaplains who visit and hold church services for inmates at correctional facilities.

Our Tyler chaplains provide church services to inmates of Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Michael Unit, near Palestine, Texas, two to three times a month, and other jails, prisons, and institutions upon request.

Christian Science chaplains provide the Lesson Sermon (read in church the previous Sunday) to inmates requesting Christian Science services.  Inmates are truly grateful for these efforts that help them grow spiritually, even while incarcerated.

If you have questions or want more information, please contact:

Elizabeth Arnett
Executive Secretary
Christian Science Committee for Institutional Work in Texas
P.O. Box 1181
Haslet, TX 76052
elizarnett@att.net

Mary Baker Eddy and institutional work  

Mary Baker Eddy supported and promoted work in institutions of reform throughout her life. Her interest in working with prison inmates began through an early connection with the Pilsbury family, well-known for their humane and innovative methods of prison reform. Captain Moses Pilsbury, friend of the Baker family, was warden of New Hampshire’s state prison in Concord (1818–1826 and 1837–1840). Her relationship with the Pilsburys deepened through her brother George’s employment under Captain Amos Pilsbury at the Wethersfield, Connecticut prison, and her sister Martha’s marriage to Luther Pilsbury, deputy warden in the New Hampshire State prison.

On May 12, 1900, in a note to one of her students after he had arranged for Christian Science services to be held in the Merrimac county jail, Mary Baker Eddy wrote, “I am glad you have begun the Christian Science mission with faith that you can open the prison doors and set the captive free. God will bless us in this way of his appointing . . . ” (Tomlinson, Twelve Years with Mary Baker Eddy: Recollections and Experiences, Amplified Edition, p. 243).