Seated shoulder-to-shoulder at a small, picnic-style table with chipped green paint, four men broke open the Word.

James Tiller read aloud from the Gospel of John: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:16-17).

“We sin over and over again, and He forgives us over and over again,” John Gahan told the others.

The group continued the conversation about Scripture, tucked on the side of the recreation room in the men’s “pod” of the Perry County Jail. Gahan and Mark Renaud, members of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul at St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Perryville, are part of a team of about five conference members and retired Vincentian Father Larry Asma who take turns leading a Bible study in the jail twice a month.

The Bible study is open to any man who wants to join, regardless of faith. The group typically discusses the previous Sunday’s readings, but sometimes the Vincentians select other Scriptures for reflection. On that Tuesday, Renaud handed out a collection of verses and short reflections focused on hope and forgiveness.

The group size varies each time; sometimes, they’ve had as many as 10 men join, while that day, there were two. Tiller and Charles Blakey had participated in the Vincentians’ Bible study before and updated Renaud and Gahan about how they were doing, upcoming court dates and future plans.

Another inmate poked his head out of his cell door, and Renaud jumped up to introduce himself and hand him a copy of the Scripture verses. The Vincentians brought several prayer books and prayer cards along to give to the men in jail.

Like any Bible study, the gathering is a chance to share the love of Christ through personal connections, Renaud said. At every gathering, he tells the men, “I want you to know that we’re all sinners, and we’re all in need of God’s forgiveness,” he said. “We want to make sure they don’t think we’re up here and they’re down there. We’re all at the same table. We are all in great need.”

As the hour ended, each man shared his prayer intentions and took turns praying out loud before closing with an Our Father. Blakey shared that he expected to be released from jail on Friday; Gahan invited him to stop by the St. Vincent de Paul distribution center office space the following week to talk about anything he needed help with to get back on his feet.

Renaud asked Blakey what he had learned during his time in jail. “I’ve been learning to love myself, man,” Blakey replied.

The jail ministry has been a part of the Perryville St. Vincent de Paul conference since its inception in the late 1990s, conference president Andy Graf said. The ministry is among the ways the lay organization serves neighbors in need in the Perryville community.

“We just do our best to see the face of Christ in everyone we meet, whether it’s a jail visit, or whether it’s a person asking for a utility bill to be paid,” Graf said. “We just try to share the same values that Jesus did while He was on earth.”

The Perryville conference is the only St. Vincent de Paul Society conference in the archdiocese to engage in prison or jail ministry, according to the society’s St. Louis Council office.

While they’re not directly involved in any reentry programs for people getting out of jail, the Vincentians are there to offer the help they can, including rides from jail to home or St. Louis, help with bus tickets, rental assistance and more. Graf recalled a woman recently released from jail after serving a little more than a year who wanted to travel to her mother’s home in Florida. After calling her mom to verify, they gave her a ride to St. Louis and bought the bus ticket south.

“She was reunited with her mother after being incarcerated for quite some time,” Graf said.

On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day each year, the Vincentians arrange for a caterer to prepare special holiday meals for the staff and inmates at the jail. The conference has a long history of ministry in the jail and has maintained a good relationship with the sheriffs over the years, Graf said.

Previously, the St. Vincent de Paul conference also hosted a Bible study in the women’s jail unit; they hope to have women volunteers to start that up again soon, he added.

Gahan has been visiting the jail since 1997, shortly after moving back to Perryville after several years away and joining the St. Vincent de Paul conference. Renaud started volunteering in the prison with his wife about 10 years ago, then started ministering with his fellow Vincentians after joining the St. Vincent de Paul Society.

“Ultimately, Jesus said, ‘When I was in prison, you visited me,’” Renaud said, quoting Matthew 25. “‘When I was hungry, you gave me food; when I was thirsty, you gave me drink; and when I was in prison, you visted me.’ That’s a big part of it.”