GUILDERLAND — Larry McBride brings salvation to state prisons once a month.

He and his fellow volunteers with Residents Encounter Christ hold seminars in prisons a couple of times a year.  They hope to restore inmates to their faith and to society by holding the three-day sessions.  The first day focuses on recognizing what has gone bad in the inmate’s life, the second on “rising with the Lord,” and the final day directs inmates to “go forth with the Lord,” McBride said.  He spoke while sitting in a folding chair in the cavernous foyer of Christ the King Church, which brought McBride to the area 12 years ago. 

REC has a large base at Christ the King, many of its 130 volunteer members are congregants of the church and the group is planning to organize a post-release program to be operated from the Sumpter Avenue parish.  Just a room with a phone in it would do, said McBride.

“You’re going from the known to the unknown,” he said of inmates who are released from prison with $40 and a bus ticket.  REC hopes to create a place from which it can reach former participants and help ease them into stable civilian life.

“We’re supposed to be Christians here, so let’s welcome this person back,” said Peter Vance, REC’s chairman, of the group’s attitude towards recently-released inmates.

Beyond fostering religion, the nondenominational group aims to set an example for men who haven’t had committed male role models.  After holding their twice-yearly seminars, member’s of the group go back to the prison once a month for a reunion.  They meet with those who participated in the program to share a meal and camaraderie.  The regular return of the group offers a sense of continuity and demonstrates the volunteers’ commitment, McBride said, and sets an example for the inmates.

“To do a program and never come back is like the circus coming to town,” he said.

REC’s plans for a post-release program is an extension of that philosophy and a $400 donation from the Knight’s of Columbus of Guilderland will go towards funding it.  Easing the transition into society will be more successful, said McBride, if residents feel they have support.

Of why REC refers to inmates as residents rather than prisoners, Vance said, “That’s where they are now, not who they are.”