The American Rehabilitation Ministry which is a non-profit organization based in Missouri has donated a new full immersion portable heated baptistery valued at $1,700 to the Coconino County Detention Facility. Detention staff will schedule the use of the baptistery on a regular and frequent basis to inmates who request it.
Inmates who request a baptism will meet with the full time Jail Chaplin who will explain the process to them and its significance. Once the inmate has a full understanding of the process he or she will be scheduled for baptism.
In the past the Jail Chaplin and other religious volunteers have received requests from inmates to be baptized, but the facility did not have that capability. The Jail Chaplin contacted other detention facilities to learn what policies they had in place regarding baptisms. He learned that many agencies offer baptisms on a regular basis. He researched the availability of full immersion baptisteries. The Rescued Not Arrested non-profit group that provides bibles to prisons and jails throughout the country including the detention facility assisted the Jail Chaplin in identifying The American Rehabilitation Ministry as a resource and in contacting them.
The American Rehabilitation Ministry provided the baptistery to the detention facility free of charge. The Sheriff’s Office paid for the shipping and several upgrades such as the heater.