- It is expected that the worship service would be of the type and quality that you would expect in your own church.
- The official time scheduled for the worship service is from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. The ending time is inflexible, but the beginning time can be earlier if the church group arrives early enough to allow for the inmates to be pulled from their housing units earlier than usual. Therefore the ideal time for the church group to arrive is between 1:30 and 1:45 p.m. If any sound equipment or musical instruments need to be brought through the metal detectors and then set up in the chapel, the 1:30 time is preferable. This can add an extra 15 minutes or so to the service.
- The attendance, on the part of the inmates, usually ranges between 40 and 60. Therefore, due to space restrictions, you must keep the size of your church group to 10 or less.
- The women should be warned that they are not allowed to take their purses into the detention area; therefore, they should leave them at home or lock them in the trunk of their cars. In addition, no cell phones, pagers, or other mobile communication devices are allowed into the detention area.
- Everyone must pass through the metal detector. If the alarm goes off, the individual must receive a body scan with a hand held metal sensor. All materials and instruments carried into the facility will be searched by a correctional officer, as part of their standard operating procedures.
- There is a piano in the chapel. And we have a basic sound system.
- We request that controversial or divisive subject matter (e.g., tongues, women preachers, types of baptisms, etc.) and other distinctively denominational subjects be avoided in favor of basic evangelistic or discipleship preaching/teaching. These men are often confused enough, that we do not need to weigh them down with issues that the body of Christ at large has not been able to agree upon. Our philosophy in this area is to help them to become well grounded in the basic fundamentals of the Christian faith and to let them decide, when they are released, as to the doctrinal particulars and style of worship they individually prefer.
- Again, it must be stressed that the service ends at 3:00 p.m., and the inmates are turned back to the correctional officers at that time, regardless of what is going on in the worship service. The correctional officers have a very short time frame, in which they must get all the inmates returned to their cells and locked down, so that an official head count can be taken before the shift changes at 4:00 p.m.
- Under this time frame, unless you have a lot of equipment, you should be out of the institution between 3:10 and 3:20 p.m.
- Churches/groups must submit a list to one of the Chaplains at least 3 days in advance of all persons attending the Sunday worship service.
- In addition, at least two weeks prior to the Sunday worship service, the churches/groups must identify any individual in the group who has previously been incarcerated. [Include full name, current address, social security number and date of incarceration.] Following review by the HCDC administration, the church will be notified prior to the Sunday they are scheduled for as to whether or not there is any individual who will not be allowed to enter HCDC for purposes of participating in the Sunday worship service. Failure to comply with this procedure can result in loss of ministerial privilege at HCDC for the church/group.
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