| Church becomes angel to inmates' children By Angela Swinson Lee UMConnection correspondent Evelyn Brown can still remember the way the boys face lit up last year when she gave him that watch. Seeing his smile, she realized that in giving, she had also been blessed. The youngster was the son of someone in jail. St. Matthews UMC in La Plata, where Brown is a member, undertook the ministry of purchasing gifts for the youngster and children of other inmates in the District of Columbia Correctional Facility as part of the Angel Tree program. This year the church is participating in the program again, knowing that without their gifts, some of the children would not receive any presents for Christmas. The gifts will be presented Dec. 21 at a dinner and party at the church. The church also provides transportation for many of the children, ages 2 to 15, who otherwise would be unable to attend. More than 20 children are expected. Brown, 62, admits she was a bit taken aback when she was asked to purchase gifts for a family of six this year. But she quickly accepted the challenge and recruited her friends for help. An only child, Brown said she often took her possessions for granted and rarely considered that there were people less fortunate. You just dont realize people out there need help, she said. According to Brown, the experience prompted her to take a glimpse at her life. She now goes an extra mile to offer a helping hand. I have to hurry up and just do things for people because I never know when its my last day, she said. The 40-member church became involved in the Angel Tree program at the urging of their pastor, the Rev. Evelyn Manson, who is also a chaplain at the jail. As I tried to educate [the congregation] about the prison ministry, we tried to teach them that prisoners are human beings and tried to teach them what the justice system is about, she said. Manson, a retired D.C. public school teacher, knew several years ago that she had a gift for ministering to inmates. In her early career, Manson said, she was terminated from a teaching position in Wilmington, N.C., for visiting the incarcerated parent of a student. After moving to the Washington area, she began volunteering at the prison in an effort to help students who had been incarcerated. After retiring from the school district, Manson attended theological school at Princeton University. Upon graduation, she began working as a chaplain at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Washington, D.C., a treatment facility for the mentally ill. The job, she said, was a challenging one. She remembers being fascinated by a patient who would never speak. One day, she visited with the patient and began singing Amazing Grace. He responded by singing another spiritual. The two then communicated by song for the rest of their meetings. Thats when Manson realized she was meant to be a chaplain. Her mission, she believes, is to reach the spiritual side of those confined. Manson compares the prison ministry at her church to a Red Cross worker trying to pick up a wounded soldier. Youve got to go on the battlefield. When the inmates children arrive at St. Matthews from Washington this year, the church will be decorated. Santa Claus will be present. So will the spirit of Christ. Manson can already feel how excited theyll be to open the presents they never expected to receive. She grins when she talks about how happy the children were last year: It was really something. | 
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