Bill Text: VA HJR265 | 2018 | Regular Session | Enrolled

Virginia House Joint Resolution 265 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Commending the Danville Good News Jail & Prison Ministry.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2018-02-22 - Bill text as passed House and Senate (HJ265ER) [HJR265 Detail]

Download: Virginia-2018-HJR265-Enrolled.html

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 265 Commending the Danville Good News Jail & Prison Ministry.

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 16, 2018 Agreed to by the Senate, February 22, 2018

WHEREAS, for 40 years, the Danville Good News Jail & Prison Ministry has provided spiritual guidance and support to the inmates and staff of Danville City Jail; and

WHEREAS, Good News Jail & Prison Ministry is an international nonprofit organization that supports Christian chaplains as they serve the inmates and staff of correctional facilities; and

WHEREAS, Good News Jail & Prison Ministry has placed chaplains in more than 100 facilities in the United States and in more than 20 countries worldwide; the Danville Good News Jail & Prison Ministry was established at the invitation of the Danville Sheriff's Office in 1978; and

WHEREAS, the Reverend Ray Macy, a successful businessman and a former volunteer at the Arlington County Jail, relocated to Danville to become the first minister of the Danville Good News Jail & Prison Ministry; and

WHEREAS, Reverend Macy expanded the ministry throughout Danville and Pittsylvania County, serving inmates and staff at W. W. Moore, Jr., Juvenile Detention Home, Pittsylvania County Jail, Chatham Correctional Unit 15, and Danville City Prison Farm, now Danville Adult Detention Center; and

WHEREAS, by the time of his well-earned retirement, Reverend Macy had helped place chaplains in correctional facilities in Bristol, Virginia Beach, Martinsville, and Henry County; he also served as a regional director and assistant director of chaplains for Good News Jail & Prison Ministry at the national level; and

WHEREAS, the Reverend David Abernathy became a chaplain for Good News Jail & Prison Ministry in 1989 and became the area's senior chaplain after Reverend Macy's retirement; and

WHEREAS, Reverend Abernathy brought a wealth of business and ministerial experience to the position and serves as a mentor and team leader for chaplains in Abingdon, Bristol, Charlottesville, and Martinsville; and

WHEREAS, the Danville Good News Jail & Prison Ministry continued to expand when Kelly Herndon was hired as the program's first administrative assistant in 2005; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend the Danville Good News Jail & Prison Ministry on the occasion of its 40th anniversary; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the Danville Good News Jail & Prison Ministry as an expression of the General Assembly's admiration for the organization's work to meet the spiritual needs of inmates and staff at Danville City Jail.