alumni feature, ministry
By Greg Mellor
(Sacramento 2004-05)
In August of 2005, I drove away from the gates of New Folsom Prison for the last time as a Jesuit Volunteer. My year in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps was hands down the most transformational experience of my life. It is an experience from which I regularly draw new wisdom, inspiration, and self-understanding.
As a full-time prison chaplain, I learned how to actively and effectively share Christ’s love and compassion to the men inmates of the maximum-security prison. I also learned how to show this love and compassion to the administrators, correctional officers, and other prison staff. What most astounded me was the profound love and care that several of the men inmates showed me. To this day, I consider the C-Yard chapel in New Folsom Prison to be the place where I feel most safe physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
Since completing my year in JVC, I’ve lived in six different cities and the bulk of my professional career has been dedicated to high school and university campus ministry at Jesuit institutions. This work and ministry have surely been life-giving. However, as I continue to listen to the desires that lie deepest in my heart, I return to prison over and over again. The desire to serve men in a prison was planted in me as a Jesuit Volunteer and simply has not left.
Therefore, my plan is to respond to this desire and to take a leap of faith this summer. I will move to Sacramento and pursue work in prison ministry. As the old JVC motto says, I truly was "ruined for life."
alumni feature, fjv
If the values of JVC continue to resonate with you as you contemplate your next steps, then I encourage you to think about participating in the CLA program! It has been a truly transformative and life-giving experience for me.
love stories, alumni feature, fjv
My community, my roommates, my best friends have taught me to both share and receive unconditional love. We have a built a life together in New York City.
fjv, alumni feature, community
Community has taught me about myself and exposed me to new perspectives. We can talk about hard things in community. Conversations get deeper, problems can get worked out, walls can come down. It's never perfect, it's rarely easy, but it is enriching. I would not be the person I am today without living in intentional communities.
alumni feature, fjv, love stories
"His huge heart, integrity, dependability, and our shared values of faith, justice, community, and commitment made it obvious--I'd been waiting all my life for this man to be my partner! "
fjv, alumni feature, love stories
"Living in a community of parallels, marred by trauma, supported by deep love, helped us recognize how much responsibility we carry in this world as stewards of social justice."