N.C. Department of
Correction--Correction News--February 1998
Craggy religious center and chapel
dedicated
Asheville - Nearly 400 Department of
Correction personnel, community volunteers, guests and inmates
gathered at Craggy Correctional Center on a snowy Monday morning
to help dedicate the new T. Frank Shirley Religious Center, the
John T. South Chapel and the Billy Graham Family Library.
 Sen. Robert C. Carpenter, Sen. Jesse
Ledbetter, Keith Hester
(background), John T. South, Mack Jarvis, Michael York,
Chaplain Frank Shirley, Jennifer Langley, Chaplain
Roosevelt
Wilkerson, Jr. and Superintendent Marcus B. Hughes were
among the many participants in the dedication ceremony.
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The dedication service held December
8, 1997, marked the completion of many months of hard
work and cooperation among community members and the
state of North Carolina to construct the
5,000-square-foot religious center. Designed by architect Carleton Collins, owner of
the Design Workshop in Asheville, the T. Frank Shirley
Religious Center features a beautiful worship area, a
service area and a work area. The building includes the
180-seat John T. South Chapel, the 60-seat Myron Peterson
Education Room, the Billy Graham Family Library, two
counseling rooms, three Senior and Associate Chaplain's
offices, a clerical office and storage space. A gift from
the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association provided funds
for the Billy Graham Family Library as well as a
continuing commitment to provide printed, audio and video
materials.
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Speaking at the dedication service, Correction
Secretary Mack Jarvis said December 8 was an important day for
the men of Craggy Correctional Center, the Department of
Correction and the people of western North Carolina. "All
have worked together to arrive at this moment, " he said.
"We are here to dedicate this building as a place of worship
and to remember the hard work that brought us to this
point."
As part of this combined effort, the state
committed $438,750 to the project, and the Craggy Correctional
Center Chapel Fund, Inc. committed $205, 44. More than 800
individuals, churches, businesses, organizations, foundations and
trust funds made donations to the Chapel Fund to help make the
dream of having a religious center at Craggy Correctional Center
a much needed reality.
"Each piece of brick and mortar purchased
by those donations sends a message," Jarvis said. "When
the inmates of Craggy look at this building, they can hear a
choir of people from across western North Carolina sing out I
care. For a man separated from family, locked away from
society and living the life ordered by the state, hearing someone
say I care is important."
Chaplain T. Frank Shirley, who retired from the
Department of Correction in September, and community leader John
T. South both lead the way with their support for the chapel
campaign by working tirelessly to help guide and achieve the
completion of a House of God inside the fence at Craggy
Correctional Center.
During a visit to Craggy's new religious
center, Gov. Jim Hunt expressed pride in the project. "I
think this facility at Craggy is a wonderful example of people
working together and believing that God can change people's
lives, even people who have fallen very low...But the Lord can
work miracles," he said. "This building is going to do
great work, and I am very proud of it."
NC DOC Correction News- February 1998
NC Department of Correction News
NC
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