Community of Celebration Invites In Imprisoned Women

Jennifer still can’t quite believe the members of Community of Celebration, a Episcopal religious order in Aliquippa, care about her.

“It’s rare to see someone donate so much time to make us feel good,” Jennifer explained as she and about a half-dozen other inmates from the Beaver County Jail put finishing touches on quilts they had been working on for the last eight weeks.
The women, all of whom are scheduled to be released in the near future, are the fourth class to participate in Community of Celebration’s Aliquippa Community Enterprise (ACE) Women’s Training Program.  During the twice-weekly sessions, community members have taught everything from quilt-making and creative writing skills to parenting and cooking techniques in an effort to help the women reenter “normal” life.  The goal, said community member May McKeown, is simply to create a place in Aliquippa where incarcerated women “can come, be accepted and work on skills.”

What is Community of Celebration Community of Celebration, which has been based in downtown Aliquippa for some 20 years, is a contemporary Benedictine religious order in the Episcopal Church.  The group of men and women, both single and married, live, work and worship together and has taken an active role in helping rebuild and revitalize the community of Aliquippa.   Founded at Church of the Redeemer in Houston, Texas, some 40 years, ago, Community of Celebration draws its members from all over the world.  More information about Community of Celebration is available here

The program has also given Community of Celebration members a golden opportunity to take “all that good stuff we’re taught about being like Christ and really try to do it,” added McKeown.

For Jennifer, it’s simply about being around people who don’t mistrust her because of her past and want to help her prepare for the future.  “I can actually cook now!” she laughed, recalling one too many meals that began with a can-opener or a swing through a fast food restaurant.  McKeown added that working regularly with Jennifer and other women has reminded her of the value God places on every individual.  “We all have something to share,” she explained.

That spirit of sharing seems to be wearing off on the women in the training program.  For her part, Jennifer is hoping to pitch in with the refurbishing of All Saints House, a community center building that Community of Celebration is in the process of preparing for public use.  Jennifer also knows the relationships with community members that she’s formed over the last two months will last beyond her release.  “I know that when we’re out there, we can come back and talk to someone,” she said.

The Women’s Training Program, primarily operated by Community of Celebration members Alison Stanley and McKeown, works in partnership with the Beaver County Jail.  Funding for the program currently comes from individual donors as well as grants from Citizens Bank and the Child Health Association of Sewickley.  Community of Celebration would be happy to partner with any parish in the Diocese in this and other efforts they are undertaking to reach out to the people of Aliquippa.