PRINCE ALBERT — Over the years, churches near the City of Prince Albert have been fortunate to make use of the skills of the inmates in the Saskatchewan Federal Penitentiary. There are some beautiful pews and furnishings that were made at the Penn and purchased by the parishes to furnish their churches.
Unfortunately, you are not able to buy such things now, but the minimum-security inmates do cut the grass during the summer at Holy Trinity Church in Sturgeon Valley and St. Martin’s Church in Briarlea, along with three other community graveyards in the area. The cost for the two churches is to take turns providing lunch for the work crew and their guard at the site. There are usually six or seven guys who are so thankful and appreciative of a home-cooked meal.
They will also do various types of maintenance jobs. This year we asked them if they could paint the inside of our church. We provided all the supplies, ladders, paint, brushes, etc. As it turned out, there was one fellow on the crew who had been a painter, so he was in charge. They had it all done in two days, with two coats of paint on the walls and ceiling.
They had it finished before our annual flower service in August. There was a good turnout at the service, and we had lots of lovely flowers to decorate with.
