Send us Fan Mail

Serving people in prison isn’t a side project of the Church—it’s at the heart of the gospel. Jesus makes it unmistakably clear: “I was in prison and you visited me.” To step inside those walls is to encounter Christ himself, already present among the forgotten.

In this episode, Bishop Wright has a conversation with Chaplain Susan Bishop, who serves at Lee Arrendale State Prison. They explore what 44 years of prison ministry have taught her, including how Susan got involved in this work. Susan didn’t set out to become a prison chaplain, but what began as a step along the way became a life-altering calling.

Susan also reflects on why this work matters—even when it’s hard, messy, and emotionally demanding. She speaks honestly about crime and harm, while also pointing to God’s capacity to restore what seems beyond repair. In their conversation, Susan names a truth many prison volunteers quickly discover: you think you’re bringing Jesus into prison—then you realize Jesus was already there. Listen in for the full conversation.

Chaplain Susan F. Bishop is an ordained Southern Baptist clergywoman with more than four decades of experience in prison ministry. She currently serves as Director of Chaplaincy Services and Clinical Chaplain at Lee Arrendale State Prison. Over the course of her 44 years of service, she has held a variety of roles, demonstrating a longstanding commitment to spiritual care, pastoral leadership, and the support of incarcerated individuals.

Support the show

Follow us on IG and FB at Bishop Rob Wright.

Send us Fan Mail

Good Friday isn’t just a date on the calendar—it’s a truth test. What happens when real integrity shows up in public life and refuses to be bought, bent, or silenced?

In his 1964 meditation Discovery, Howard Thurman suggests that death isn’t the worst outcome. The real tragedy is living without dignity, without conviction—without the integrity of your spirit and soul.

In this episode, Melissa and Bishop Wright wrestle with the uncomfortable logic of the cross. If Jesus embodies a truth that heals, feeds, and restores, why do systems react as if that truth is a threat? Maybe it’s because truth—real, lived truth—disrupts what’s convenient. Bishop Wright offers a simple invitation: anchor yourself in God’s goodness, treat every person as a sibling, and live a truth the world can recognize. Listen in to the full conversation.

Read For Faith, the companion devotional.

Support the show

Follow us on IG and FB at Bishop Rob Wright.

Send us Fan Mail

The military chaplain is one of the few people trained to stand close to war without becoming part of the fight, and that tension can change everything.

In this episode, Bishop Wright has a conversation with Bishop Ann Ritonia, Bishop Suffragan for Armed Forces and Federal Ministries, about what spiritual care looks like in deployed units, VA health care facilities, and federal prisons, and why chaplains exist to help people stay whole in the middle of experiences most of us will never face.

They get practical about the day-to-day reality: providing Episcopal worship, facilitating religious support for other traditions when no clergy are available, advising commanders on the human needs inside a unit, and showing up for service members and veterans who carry trauma, grief, and moral injury. Bishop Ritonia also shares why Episcopal chaplains are formed as priests first, and how that priestly identity helps them care for all, including people who may be turned away elsewhere. Listen in for the full conversation.

The Rt. Rev. Ann Ritonia served parishes of all sizes for more than 19 years before her election as the eighth bishop suffragan for Armed Forces and Federal Ministries of The Episcopal Church. She served 17 years in the U.S. Marine Corps and Marine Corps Reserve, holding a range of leadership and executive roles.

Ritonia’s military honors include two Navy Commendation Medals, the Navy Achievement Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, Meritorious Unit Commendations, and the Recruit Honor Graduate Award. She served seven years on the Chaplain Selection Committee for Armed Forces and Federal Ministries and provided spiritual direction and pastoral care to chaplains.

Mother to four adults and grandmother to Eva, Adaline, Leo, and Polly, Ritonia and her husband, Mike, live in Ellicott City, Maryland, with their two English bulldogs and golden retriever, Phoebe, Gemma and Louie.

Support the show

Follow us on IG and FB at Bishop Rob Wright.