Alison McCrary 

Hi. I'm Alison, a native of the Deep South based in New Orleans, Louisiana. and I’ve been ministering on Louisiana's death row since 2005. Louisiana is the most incarcerated state in the most incarcerated nation in the world with the highest rate of capital cases overturned in the nation. My volunteer ministry as a Spiritual Advisor on Death Row at Angola Prison, the largest prison in the United States, has been fully self-supported for more than 18 years. Now I need your help to sustain it!&nbsp;As a Spiritual Advisor on Death Row, I meet monthly with an incarcerated person, pray with them, support them on their spiritual journey and relationship with God, and prepare them spiritually, psychologically, and emotionally— as much as one can— for execution by the government. I cultivate and nurture a relationship with them, their family members, and sometimes the victim. I respond to their letters, take collect calls, send them books and literature to help them on their spiritual journey, document their stories, and assist with funeral preparations. I founded and coordinate Louisiana InterFaith against Executions (L.I.F.E.) to organize local clergy in the movement to end the death penalty. I also help with legislative advocacy and public education about the death penalty. For more than a decade, I received no grant support, donations, or other funding sources for this ministry, paying all my expenses out of pocket. In 2017, I created this Patreon page as the sole (soul) source of support for this ministry. It pays for gas for the six-hour drives to Angola Prison, postage stamps, SecureUs phone call funds, JPay messaging fees, meals, necessary toiletries for the people I visit,, and other related expenses. Aware of our interdependence, I am leaning into community for support.&nbsp; I invite you to join me in this ministry that fills in the gaps for services that non-profit organizations aren't providing or can't provide.This ministry requires long-term dedication and understanding—the way I structure my life provides me with a radical availability to hold space for people who we put into cages, in solitary confinement, and in places of oppression and deep suffering. It also requires spiritual support and ongoing training, much of which I've had the privilege to obtain through my formation in becoming a Catholic Sister.&nbsp;As an enrolled citizen of the Ani-Yun-Wiya Nation, I also offer a needed ministry to Indigenous people who are incarcerated. Native Americans are incarcerated at a rate 38% higher than the national average.I currently accompany incarcerated Indigenous people from various tribal backgrounds,, some on death row and some in general population at the prison. As various forms of cultural, political, and spiritual genocide continue against our people through mass incarceration and other forms of oppression, accompanying people as they reclaim their heritage and spiritualityhas helped me recognize our interconnection to the Earth and all living things, and our need for mutual healing and liberation.&nbsp;&nbsp;I receive letters from people at Angola who are looking to reconnect with their children, some of whom they haven't seen in more than 20 years. I contact their children, driving them to Angola, and hold space for this challenging first conversation. I also drive others from New Orleans who do not have transportation to visit their loved ones at Angola. I also support people who are coming home from prison..&nbsp; I provide in-home hospice care to those exonerated from Death Row after being wrongfully convicted. I've had the honor of organizing and presiding over the funerals of two men who were exonerated after serving decades for crimes they didn't commit. I provide free mediation for those coming out of prison and their loved ones.I also help identify other potential Spiritual Advisors and orient them to this ministry incarcerated people frequently write to me seeking someone to serve as their Spiritual Advisor, so I try to help them find an open-minded person to journey with them who would be a good fit for them and their religious or spiritual tradition, practices, or background.&nbsp;This is a ministry I never intended to do, but the Spirit has led me to it, and the needs continue to increase as jail mail on my desk stacks up. As many Catholic Sisters and others who held this ministry before me transition, the requests I receive from incarcerated people have increased.I love doing this ministry as a piece of my larger work for social transformation.&nbsp; Though it can sometimes be isolating and discouraging to witness such injustices, and tiring to wake up at 4am on Saturday mornings to drive six hours to and from the prison by myself, your support of this ministry allows me to carry you with me into some of the darkest places in our society. It reminds me that we are on this journey together for our collective liberation.Aware of this web of mutuality, I am leaning into community for support and inviting you to join me in this ministry. I am deeply committed to working for the liberation for all, cultivating meaningful relationships in community, creating transformation through healing, connecting people who are incarcerated to their loved ones, helping people grow in their relationship with God, and living out of our interconnectedness and oneness with each other and all of creation.&nbsp;Any amount helps me offer this vital service that non-profit organizations don’t provide. If you can't contribute money, but have time/skills you'd like to offer instead, I would love to hear from you!All donations are tax deductions . For one-time donations, please donate<a href="https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=FAE5GHTPY9FH2" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"> here&nbsp;</a>.With deep gratitude and appreciation,&nbsp;Alison

Free

"You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all people; being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts." - 2 Corinthians 3:2-3  
 
This tier pays for ten postage stamps to respond to mailed letters or to send funds to inmates for them to purchase ten postage stamps.   Thank you for allowing me to share love from the heart to the hearts of those on the inside.

A letter from the heart

"I was in prison and you visited me."  -Matthew 25:36. 
 
This tier level will provide a meal to an inmate during one of our visits.  The food purchased is made by and supports inmate run organizations such as the Veterans Club, the Angola Special Civics Project, the Re-Entry Society, the Sober Group, and Malachi Kids to support their work.

I was in prison and you visited me. 

"Let justice roll on like a river."  - Amos 5:24. 
 
This tier pays for gas for one drive to Angola Prison from New Orleans and back.  It's a six hour roundtrip drive and it isn't possible without a little gas money. Thanks for making the trip possible and know that I carry you and your support with me along the way.

Let justice roll on! 

"Keep on loving each other as family. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering." - Hebrews 13:1-3
 
This tier allows me to provide for life necessities such as toiletries and food for one inmate for a year just as a family member would ensure that their loved one has what they need.  The funds are placed in their jpay account for items purchased at the canteen or food is ordered through a mail-in form that they send me to order for them at Christmas time for their yearly supply.

Loving as family

"The Spirit is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; God has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoner."  Isaiah 61:1
 
This tier allows me to freely dedicate the time I need to this ministry and respond to requests for legal assistance and spiritual support.  It also allows me to participate in ongoing professional development for me to deliver quality spiritual accompaniment, create new ministries as requests come in or needs arise, and support broader movements for criminal justice reform.

Set the captives free!

Thank you very much for supporting my ministry at Angola State Penitentiary.   This work would not be possible without you. With deep gratitude, Sister Alison

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