BAYLor women's correctional institution

660 Baylor Boulevard, New Castle, Delaware 19720


BAYLOR PRISON HOLDS 1st KAIROS INSIDE WEEKEND!


Baylor is Delaware's only women's correctional institution. 

Kairos of Delaware's State Chapter Committee has been working persistently over the years

to obtain permission to hold a Kairos Inside Weekend at Baylor Women's

Correctional Institution--and we finally received the go-ahead

to hold our very first Weekend at Baylor April 3-6, 2025!  

This was huge and so needed!


I read a devotion recently on the difficulty of waiting for God to move. It said that instead of trying to control a situation, which only brings us frustration, we should surrender in love. That message so beautifully describes the patience that Kairos of Delaware showed for eleven years while waiting to enter the only women’s prison in Delaware. During that time, we prayed, waited, initiated our Advisory Council, waited some more and prayed some more. Loving surrender won the day. God moved, and Baylor Women’s Correctional Institute in New Castle, Delaware held its first KairosInside Weekend in April 2025. Hallelujah!


Baylor houses a relatively small population of just over 90 residents. Because these residents are integrally involved in the work of the prison, allowing more than 20residents to participate in a Kairos Inside weekend was not an option. Much credit is due to the Warden, Chaplain and Kairos leaders for negotiating a solution that allowed the weekend to be held with eight residents. It was small, but it was mighty.


A team of 12 Inside Volunteers led the women through a powerful spiritual journey that was evident at the closing ceremony. The volunteers were mixed in their Kairos experience, but each one seasoned in ministry and full of mature faith. God provided this team, giving us a volunteer fluent in Spanish, one who is an artist, one who is a veteran of the penal system and several who are ministers.


The closing ceremony was joyful and beautiful. One resident testified to finally forgiving herself. One woman shared that we cannot know what it is like to feel no love, day after day in the prison. But the Kairos Inside team brought the love in. These residents had formed their own small community by the end of the weekend. They recast the DOC, Department of Corrections label to mean Daughters of Christ, which they now wear proudly. Someone called it ‘reclaiming the shame’.


Real bonds were formed during Baylor’s Kairos Inside Weekend #1. These bonds will only be strengthened as Prayer and Share takes off this month. I for one cannot wait to see what God does now that He’s invited Kairos Inside to Baylor. May this first Weekend be the first of many, many more.

      

Cathie Barton

Baylor Advisory Council Chair

catherine.a.barton@gmail.com


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Baylor Women's CI Officers


  • Cathie Barton                Advisory Council Chair
  • Iva Boardman                 Treasurer
  • Brian Schmidt                 Donor Coordinator
  • Carolyn Townsend         Secretary
  • Vicki McDowell              Institutional Liaison
  • Meg Barton                     Communications Coordinator
  • Pat Marks                         Advisor
  • Kitty Dombrowski           Advisor
  • Alec Thomson                  Advisor