TUCKER — After a 15-year journey, the Tucker Maximum Security Unit now has a chapel, dedicated Nov. 19 in memory of Frank “Buddy” King, a former deacon and prison ministry director for the Diocese of Little Rock.
The chapel was a dream for King who served in prison ministry for 25 years, 17 of those as prison ministry director. King died in 2003 at 62.
“Frank always said that before he died, he wanted to build a chapel at Tucker Max,” said Renie Rule, chairwoman of the chapel fund raising committee.
Father Lou Franz, CM, worked with King on prison ministry in Arkansas from 1985-1993 and returned from his work in Arizona to dedicate the chapel to his friend.
“To have this chapel in memory of him is very special,” he said before the dedication ceremony. “He was an inspirational, good man who died way too young. I hope he’s an inspiration to others in the diocese to think about prison ministry.”
Rule worked with King on the chapel fundraising and took over after he died of a heart attack in 2003. In 2005, they broke ground on the chapel.
The Catholic Church in Arkansas provided the lead gift for the chapel at the Tucker Max Unit. Then-Bishop J. Peter Sartain asked friends to donate $5,000 each to the chapel fund, totaling $25,000, and Father Franz and the Vincentians were able to match those funds for a total of $50,000.
Individuals and other churches contributed the rest of the $181,000.
The process of building the chapel took 15 years, and in that time four wardens and five chaplains came and went.
The 2,800-square-foot chapel provides a non-denominational space for inmates and prison personnel.
Outside of the space for services that seats 40, the chapel also offers a library, two counseling rooms where inmates can meet with religious advisors, chaplain’s office and space to store musical instruments.
Currently, if an inmate wants to speak to a religious advisor, they must sit in the cafeteria with the guard standing beside them. The chapel space offers two rooms designed for inmates to meet privately, but still provide safety through a window where the guard can keep watch.
The chapel space has high ceilings and is painted a light yellow to enhance the brightness.
The small, rectangle windows at the side of the chapel are made from colored glass. Details like the colored glass and carpet matter, Rule said, when all you see is shades of concrete gray.
“For many of these ’lifers,’ this is the first time they’ve seen anything colorful or welcoming in over 40 years,” she said.
While King never realized his dream of building the chapel, he paved the way for it to happen. His belief in the power of ministering to those who have no hope or support, never wavered, Father Franz said.
“Frank taught me to approach each person with respect because each one has a place in God’s eyes. This chapel is for everyone to find support for whatever they believe,” Father Franz said when dedicating the chapel. “Judy, Frank’s wife, always reminded me of the saying — ’You need love most when you deserve it the least.’ God’s amazing grace brings us here to a place that is not only practical, but beautiful.”
