Rev. Consuella York, 72
Jail Minister
Rev. Consuella York, 72, a tiny woman of towering faith and tireless compassion who ministered to the inmates of Cook County Jail for more than 43 years, died Monday.
She was known to everyone as Mother York and was believed to be the first African-American woman to be ordained into the clergy in Chicago by her denomination. She was pastor of Christ Way Missionary Baptist Church, 1210 E. 62nd St., in Woodlawn, which she founded.
Her daughter, Virginia, said her mother suffered a heart attack at the church and was pronounced dead at Billings Hospital.
A corrections official once called her the Mother Teresa of the Cook County Jail. Since 1952, she has visited the correctional complex at 26th and California Streets at least three times each week, preaching hope and redemption and providing food and toiletries, prayer and attention. "Words can't describe what Mother York meant to this institution," said J.W. Fairman Jr., the jail's executive director. "She was a true servant of her God, and she demonstrated her faith and her love with her actions. She gave the inmates more than food for their bodies; she fed their hearts and minds and souls. And she also ministered to the staff. She often came and prayed with me. People on both sides of the bars are very upset and sad today."
On weekdays, she would take turns visiting smaller units at the jail until she had covered the entire jail. She would tease, cajole, banter, praise and scold, then have the men or women kneel for prayer.
On Saturdays, she held a worship service for selected units before she and members of her church served a homemade meal that featured fried chicken. On Sunday mornings, she preached to prisoners in maximum security, then conducted services at her church in the afternoon.
She also made visits to state prisons.
A former inmate who turned his life around because of Mother York said: "She's a nurturer, a disciplinarian, a friend, a second mother to me. I was addicted to drugs and charged with burglary when she rekindled my spiritual fire. It was her sincerity alone that did it."
In a 1989 interview, Mother York explained her ministry: "When people are hurting, they're open to God, and the Bible tells us to minister to those who are sick and in prison."
Mother York was born in Chicago. Her church, which has 300 members, began as a Bible study class that met in the basement of a South Side home, evolved into a storefront mission and moved to its present location in 1976.
She was ordained in 1954 by Rev. Clay Evans, pastor of the Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, who will preside at her services.
Jail Minister
Rev. Consuella York, 72, a tiny woman of towering faith and tireless compassion who ministered to the inmates of Cook County Jail for more than 43 years, died Monday.
She was known to everyone as Mother York and was believed to be the first African-American woman to be ordained into the clergy in Chicago by her denomination. She was pastor of Christ Way Missionary Baptist Church, 1210 E. 62nd St., in Woodlawn, which she founded.
Her daughter, Virginia, said her mother suffered a heart attack at the church and was pronounced dead at Billings Hospital.
A corrections official once called her the Mother Teresa of the Cook County Jail. Since 1952, she has visited the correctional complex at 26th and California Streets at least three times each week, preaching hope and redemption and providing food and toiletries, prayer and attention. "Words can't describe what Mother York meant to this institution," said J.W. Fairman Jr., the jail's executive director. "She was a true servant of her God, and she demonstrated her faith and her love with her actions. She gave the inmates more than food for their bodies; she fed their hearts and minds and souls. And she also ministered to the staff. She often came and prayed with me. People on both sides of the bars are very upset and sad today."
On weekdays, she would take turns visiting smaller units at the jail until she had covered the entire jail. She would tease, cajole, banter, praise and scold, then have the men or women kneel for prayer.
On Saturdays, she held a worship service for selected units before she and members of her church served a homemade meal that featured fried chicken. On Sunday mornings, she preached to prisoners in maximum security, then conducted services at her church in the afternoon.
She also made visits to state prisons.
A former inmate who turned his life around because of Mother York said: "She's a nurturer, a disciplinarian, a friend, a second mother to me. I was addicted to drugs and charged with burglary when she rekindled my spiritual fire. It was her sincerity alone that did it."
In a 1989 interview, Mother York explained her ministry: "When people are hurting, they're open to God, and the Bible tells us to minister to those who are sick and in prison."
Mother York was born in Chicago. Her church, which has 300 members, began as a Bible study class that met in the basement of a South Side home, evolved into a storefront mission and moved to its present location in 1976.
She was ordained in 1954 by Rev. Clay Evans, pastor of the Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, who will preside at her services.
Rev. Consuella York, 72
Jail Minister
Rev. Consuella York, 72, a tiny woman of towering faith and tireless compassion who ministered to the inmates of Cook County Jail for more than 43 years, died Monday.
She was known to everyone as Mother York and was believed to be the first African-American woman to be ordained into the clergy in Chicago by her denomination. She was pastor of Christ Way Missionary Baptist Church, 1210 E. 62nd St., in Woodlawn, which she founded.
Her daughter, Virginia, said her mother suffered a heart attack at the church and was pronounced dead at Billings Hospital.
A corrections official once called her the Mother Teresa of the Cook County Jail. Since 1952, she has visited the correctional complex at 26th and California Streets at least three times each week, preaching hope and redemption and providing food and toiletries, prayer and attention. "Words can't describe what Mother York meant to this institution," said J.W. Fairman Jr., the jail's executive director. "She was a true servant of her God, and she demonstrated her faith and her love with her actions. She gave the inmates more than food for their bodies; she fed their hearts and minds and souls. And she also ministered to the staff. She often came and prayed with me. People on both sides of the bars are very upset and sad today."
On weekdays, she would take turns visiting smaller units at the jail until she had covered the entire jail. She would tease, cajole, banter, praise and scold, then have the men or women kneel for prayer.
On Saturdays, she held a worship service for selected units before she and members of her church served a homemade meal that featured fried chicken. On Sunday mornings, she preached to prisoners in maximum security, then conducted services at her church in the afternoon.
She also made visits to state prisons.
A former inmate who turned his life around because of Mother York said: "She's a nurturer, a disciplinarian, a friend, a second mother to me. I was addicted to drugs and charged with burglary when she rekindled my spiritual fire. It was her sincerity alone that did it."
In a 1989 interview, Mother York explained her ministry: "When people are hurting, they're open to God, and the Bible tells us to minister to those who are sick and in prison."
Mother York was born in Chicago. Her church, which has 300 members, began as a Bible study class that met in the basement of a South Side home, evolved into a storefront mission and moved to its present location in 1976.
She was ordained in 1954 by Rev. Clay Evans, pastor of the Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, who will preside at her services.
Jail Minister
Rev. Consuella York, 72, a tiny woman of towering faith and tireless compassion who ministered to the inmates of Cook County Jail for more than 43 years, died Monday.
She was known to everyone as Mother York and was believed to be the first African-American woman to be ordained into the clergy in Chicago by her denomination. She was pastor of Christ Way Missionary Baptist Church, 1210 E. 62nd St., in Woodlawn, which she founded.
Her daughter, Virginia, said her mother suffered a heart attack at the church and was pronounced dead at Billings Hospital.
A corrections official once called her the Mother Teresa of the Cook County Jail. Since 1952, she has visited the correctional complex at 26th and California Streets at least three times each week, preaching hope and redemption and providing food and toiletries, prayer and attention. "Words can't describe what Mother York meant to this institution," said J.W. Fairman Jr., the jail's executive director. "She was a true servant of her God, and she demonstrated her faith and her love with her actions. She gave the inmates more than food for their bodies; she fed their hearts and minds and souls. And she also ministered to the staff. She often came and prayed with me. People on both sides of the bars are very upset and sad today."
On weekdays, she would take turns visiting smaller units at the jail until she had covered the entire jail. She would tease, cajole, banter, praise and scold, then have the men or women kneel for prayer.
On Saturdays, she held a worship service for selected units before she and members of her church served a homemade meal that featured fried chicken. On Sunday mornings, she preached to prisoners in maximum security, then conducted services at her church in the afternoon.
She also made visits to state prisons.
A former inmate who turned his life around because of Mother York said: "She's a nurturer, a disciplinarian, a friend, a second mother to me. I was addicted to drugs and charged with burglary when she rekindled my spiritual fire. It was her sincerity alone that did it."
In a 1989 interview, Mother York explained her ministry: "When people are hurting, they're open to God, and the Bible tells us to minister to those who are sick and in prison."
Mother York was born in Chicago. Her church, which has 300 members, began as a Bible study class that met in the basement of a South Side home, evolved into a storefront mission and moved to its present location in 1976.
She was ordained in 1954 by Rev. Clay Evans, pastor of the Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, who will preside at her services.
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