This article originally appeared in the April 2004 Boost-A-Month Club Newsletter

New Fulltime Resident of Mission Land, USA

In his new assignment, Father Jerry Dorn is a short drive from the Glenmary Farm and hopes to increase his involvement in the Farm program. Above, he blesses the old Farmhouse after it was restored following the 2000 flood. The Farmhouse burned down in 2002.

Father Jerry Dorn’s life has been filled with one challenge after another for the past few months, but the challenges are ones he welcomes wholeheartedly.

After serving in Glenmary administration and leadership for 13 years, Father Jerry returned in January to the mission field as the pastor of Prince of Peace in West Liberty, Ky., and of its mission, St. Julie in adjoining Bath County. He is also reaching out to neighboring Menifee County. All three counties are located in the eastern region of Kentucky and are part of Appalachia.

During his years in leadership, Father Jerry was never far—in mind, body or spirit—from the home missions. As president and vice-president, he paid annual visits to Glenmary missioners in the field— visits he always found rejuvenating, he says. But he was always a guest, dropping in for a few days and then returning to headquarters in Cincinnati.

Now he’s a fulltime resident of Mission Land, USA, and he’s thoroughly enjoying it. “The people have been very gracious,” he says.

Involvement in prison ministry has been the most challenging aspect of Father Jerry’s new assignment. He is picking up where his predecessor, Father Pete Richardson, left off as a chaplain to the Eastern Kentucky Corrections Complex, a medium-security prison in Morgan County that houses about 1,700 inmates. Father Jerry is currently going through the orientation program sponsored by the Kentucky Correctional System.

“Orientation helps you to understand the prison culture,” Father Jerry says. “We (prison chaplains) are trained to be compassionate, to listen and to give hope. Over and over we’re told that you can’t break any prison rules. You’re in a world that cares for people who have done wrong, and it’s a very militaristic-type environment. It will take a lot of adjustment for me.”

Ministers are discouraged from forming lasting relationships with prisoners, Father Jerry says. “But as you get to know the inmates you become very aware, as you’re leaving, that you’re getting out and they’re still in there, and that leaves your heart heavy,” he says. “When you walk through those gates, you know you are part of two very different worlds.”

“It’s a challenge, but a challenge that I enjoy. I feel that our Church has something to offer,” he says.

Father Jerry recently wrote “A Prisoner’s Prayer” to leave behind after prison visits. But he says it can apply to “all of us as we journey toward’s God’s kingdom.”

The prayer reads, in part, “Help me to learn what I need to learn, here and now—not tomorrow, but today—so that one day soon I can fly high as the eagle into the mystery of your wilderness.…Send me your compassion and forgiveness of all my sins, for I am a prisoner and I need your abundant love. Amen.”

During his years as president of Glenmary, Father Jerry made frequent trips to the Glenmary Farm in Vanceburg, Ky., about three hours away from Cincinnati. Every year, the Farm hosts hundreds of young people, mostly high school and college students, who come to Kentucky to perform volunteer service and experience an immersion into the Appalachian culture. Father Jerry has been involved in some way with the Farm for most of its 30 years, and he remains in touch with former Farm volunteers.

The Farm is now a scant hour’s drive from his West Liberty home. Father Jerry looks forward to increasing his involvement with the Farm and his support of Glenmary volunteer director Joe Grosek and the Farm managers.

“I want to help them keep the Glenmary spirit alive in how they approach volunteers,” he says. “Glenmary is blessed to be part of something that so many people have experienced over the years. The Glenmary spirit is part of every volunteer when they go back home. They carry this spirit to the world.”

As Father Jerry continues to familiarize himself with the Catholic community of Morgan and Bath counties, he is also learning about the needs of these counties firsthand. In Bath County, over 21 percent of the people live below the poverty level; in Morgan County it is over 27 percent, according to the Glenmary Research Center. People counted in those numbers come to Father Jerry’s door for help with food, clothing or utility bills.

“Sometimes I feel like I don’t have enough time to do everything that I’d like to do,” he says. “But I like being challenged—it gives me strength and energy to be in places where I don’t always feel comfortable, like prisons, food pantries or even hollers. It gives me the opportunity to learn and become more than I was before.”