By David Falchek (Staff Writer)          Published: June 27, 2011

For almost a quarter of a century, the priest, along with seminarians of St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary in South Canaan, have ministered to inmates at the State Correctional Institution at Waymart.

Father Kowalczyk's work has not gone unnoticed. It has earned him an invitation to speak at the quadrennial Prison Fellowship International World Convocation in Toronto this week, where about 1,000 chaplains, volunteers, judges, former prisoners, politicians and prison officials will share perspectives and participate in workshops and training classes.

Father Kowalczyk will address the group and conduct a joint workshop with a Roman Catholic priest from South America. They will offer their faiths' perspectives on the Ministry of Presence, according to Elizabeth Street, communications director for the Institute for Prison Ministries.

In the Ministry of Presence, the approach sounds simple enough - the visitor just goes and sits with the prisoner. It may lead to conversations or even counseling, but the primary purpose is just being there.

"We only have so much time on this earth, and when we give that time to others, to share in their suffering, we sanctify it," Father Kowal­czyk said. "Even if it feels awkward, your time is the most important gift you can give."

Visiting the imprisoned was a mandate of Jesus, Father Kowalczyk noted.

"Jesus identified with the prisoner not just symbolically," he said. "He was arrested, held, and tried. The first person who entered heaven with him was the penitent thief crucified alongside him."

In Father Kowalczyk's world view, there is no difference between the prisoner, the infirm or nursing home resident. "They are all bound there - they can't leave," he said.

Even volunteer-minded Christians are often hesitant to visit with a prisoner who they don't know, Father Kowalczyk said, because they are afraid and don't know what to expect.

In his and St. Tikhon's Ministry of Presence, seminarians often are paired with inmates who never get a visitor - ever. The visits make a difference, he said.

Contact the writer: dfalchek@timesshamrock.com