Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all volunteer opportunities at the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women are cancelled until further notice.

The Diocese of Des Moines sponsored the first weekend retreat for the residents at the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women (ICIW) in Mitchellville in June of 1983.
 
A REC (Residents Encounter Christ) retreat weekend is designed to facilitate spiritual growth in the women who attend the weekend.  Grounded in Catholic spirituality, the message of REC is that God’s love and presence can be found in the people and things that surround us…even in prison.  “I don’t feel judged; I feel loved; I have found a new family; I don’t want to leave (the weekend experience.)”  These are just a few comments that one will hear after a REC weekend.  Volunteers are also enriched by the experience.  They encounter women who have been used and abused, but also women with incredible resiliency and women of deep faith.  “I went to the prison to bring Christ to the women, but I found Him there waiting for me,” said one volunteer.
 
Many present and former parishioners have been, or still are, REC volunteers: David Drey,Kristy Merschman, Mary O’Brien, Mary Reichter, Vickie Sowden and Sharon Vail.   
 
How can YOU minister to your neighbors down the road?  “I was in prison and you visited me.”  Matt. 25: 36.