On February 21, 2013, Archpriest David Straut, rector of St. Elizabeth the New Martyr parish in Rocky Hill, NJ, and chaplain of Somerset County Jail, came to HTS to speak to the seminarians about one of the more sensitive and poorly-understood topics of pastoral ministry. 

Beginning with an account of how he came to be a prison chaplain, he then opened the Holy Scriptures and spoke about Christ’s commandment to visit those in prison.  He contrasted this with detailed descriptions of the realities of visiting someone in prison.  He spoke about how we perceive  those who have been convicted and incarcerated, and challenged the listener to reconsider their views with examples of righteous biblical figures and other famous Church persons who spent time in prison, or were convicted or accused of crimes. 

This captivating lecture was followed by a deep and meaningful question-and-answer session.  Holy Trinity Seminary is very grateful to Fr. David for taking the time to speak to the student body, and for agreeing to make such a gem of pastoral advice available to the public.

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