Cookie connection
Catholic clergy share sweets with jail inmates for Christmas
The hope of Christ was delivered throughout the Oklahoma County jail on Wednesday, in the form of a traditional Christmas treat — a cookie.
Catholic chaplains, along with other volunteers, walked from cell to cell handing out chocolate chip, snickerdoodle and white chocolate sweets to the jail’s 1,900 inmates.
Sally Riesenberg, a volunteer jail chaplain and member of Christ the King Catholic Church, said the annual holiday delivery is a cookie connection of sorts — a way to share the Christmas message of hope and faith with those who may need it most.
“It’s about taking Jesus to them — He just comes in a cookie,” she said, smiling.
The Rev. Cristobel De Loera, an associate pastor at St. James the Greater Catholic Church, shared similar comments.
“Christ comes to them in a cookie and a sweet note from a kindergartner,” De Loera said. “We do this to bring hope to the people and remind them that we care about them and to let them know they are not forgotten.”
The note the priest referred to was one of the handmade Christmas cards created for the inmates by young people, primarily Christ the King Catholic School and McGuinness High School students.
Most of the inmates responded favorably to the volunteers’ greetings of “Merry Christmas!” and “God bless you!”
The sweets wrapped in small white sacks seemed to be a definite hit.
“Oh my God! Thank you!,” one female inmate shouted when a volunteer gave her a cookie and a bottle of shampoo.
Kelly Basey, another volunteer chaplain from Christ the King, grinned.
“Remember, Christmas is in the heart, no matter where you are,” she told the grateful inmates.
Turning to onlookers, Basey smiled.
“See their reaction? When you bring a little Christ in, it just shines right back at you,” she said.
Volunteers had to hand the cookies to inmates through a small opening in the cell door in some areas of the jail, while in other areas, jail deputies opened cell doors so volunteers were able to exchange the treats and chat face-to-face with inmates inside.
Cookie of kindness
Riesenberg said the cookie delivery project was the idea of Deacon Roy Forsythe from St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Edmond. She said it became a popular outreach after an inmate named “Victor” saved a cookie for his detoxing cellmate as a way to encourage him.
Basey said that one inmate’s “act of kindness” to another inspired volunteers to make the project an annual event incorporating hand delivery and handmade cards.
“I can’t even tell you how many times the Holy Spirit has done amazing things here,” she said.
Riesenberg said Forsythe initially purchased the cookies for the project but they are now baked at Belle Isle Restaurant and Brewery, which she and her husband David own and operate.
Last year, she said, her son helped deliver the cookies and when an inmate asked who made the cookies, he proudly said, “My mom made you that cookie.”
“The Catholic church is all about dignity of every soul. They say, ‘Why do you even come? Why do you even care?’ Well, they need to know that there are people out there who do care,” Reisenberg said.
Mark Opgrande, spokesman for the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s office, said the office is accommodating to clergy of different faiths who want to reach out to inmates, and the Catholic church’s initiative was no exception.
“These people are here for a reason. That doesn’t mean that they are not human. It’s Christmas. It’s the right thing to do,” he said.
Other participating volunteers said much the same thing.
Along with the Most Rev. Paul. S. Coakley, archbishop of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma, volunteer chaplain and Christ the King member Joe Cory, and Francie Ekwerekwu, a public defender with The Education and Employment Ministry called TEEM, also delivered cookies and cheer.
“It’s nice to say ‘Merry Christmas’ and offer them a smile,” Ekwerekwu said. “It’s that mercy and grace.”
The Catholic church is all about dignity of every soul. They say, ‘Why do you even come? Why do you even care?’ Well, they need to know that there are people out there who do care.” Sally Riesenberg, jail chaplain