About Prison Chaplaincy

"Prison! Me? No way!". I now know this to be the title of an innovative programme run by Prison Officers to introduce secondary school children to the realities of prison life. In 1993 however, this was my response when an enthusiastic member of my church announced "a door has opened for effective ministry in prison". Nearly twenty years later I have spent a considerable part of my life and ministry working in various establishments of incarceration in varied roles. "Prison! Me? Absolutely!"

Working in Prison Chaplaincy can be both an immensely rewarding and frustrating experience. It combines traditional church ministry as many would understand: leading worship; running bible studies; preaching and teaching; offering pastoral care, along with a radical cross- cultural opportunity. Apart from the diverse cultural mix of people in prisons, there is the culture of prison itself to work with. Chaplaincy is never dull!

Let me outline a day in the life of a Prison Chaplain:

0800 arrive at prison, meet with multi-faith team. Pick up any messages from through the night. These could include information about self-harm, death of relatives of prisoners, or messages from worried family members. At this point the team will also work out how many prisoners were admitted the previous day and agree who will go to see them. The plan for the day is shaping up.

0830 meet prisoners on their way to work; managing chaplain will often go to attend Governor's daily briefing

0845 embark on priority work - this will include visiting all prisoners who have arrived in the last 24hrs, visiting healthcare, visiting the special care and segregation unit and seeing prisoners vulnerable to self harm.

1200 ... breathe, remember to breathe ... then paperwork for volunteers' coming into the prison, religious registration, Chaplains log, etc....

1230 lunch; maybe a staff prayer meeting / pastoral work with staff

1300 begin preparations for afternoon; catch up with rest of team on how things are going, prepare for up-coming events eg Sunday worship

1345 meet prisoners on way to work in afternoon. Often afternoons are used for more structured work, eg. One to one support, resettlement work, pastoral visits, victim awareness and other structured courses, etc....

1700 evening activities. Bible studies, meditation classes, fellowship groups, music practice, informal support groups etc.... often involving management and supervision of chaplaincy volunteers.

1830 time of prayer? Ensure that any issues raised during the evening are followed through eg. Prisoners feeling vulnerable, security issues, family concerns. Complete chaplains log.

1900 Check chapel is Secure and go home!
 

 ... not to mention breaking bad news, marrying prisoners, arranging religious festivals, praying with people (staff and prisoners), having discussions about faith, escorting volunteers, ordering tea and coffee, loaning books, blessing rosary beads, hearing heartbreaking stories, attending equality / security / management meetings ....

If you are still reading then for you it is probably a case of "Prison! Me? Absolutely". If you are a minister, lay or ordained, and would like to find out more, then please contact me. Vacancies do come up from time to time, and it would be good to discuss with you how to take things forward.

All things change in life, but these three remain ... Faith, hope and love. Prison Chaplains help people discover and grow in faith, whatever that faith may be. Prison Chaplains offer hope that life can and does change. Prison Chaplains offer unconditional care and support, or love, wherever and with whoever they work. Who would want to do anything else?

Rev Bob Wilson MTh
Free Churches Faith Advisor
(SfPC)

People are People

“Change happens when we treat people as people with whom we build relationships.”
(Archbishop Justin Welby speaking at HMP Brixton April 2015) (link to full speech here)

This must be my favourite quote of the moment, and certainly one that encourages me that what we do, day by day as Prison Chaplains has the power and ability to change lives. When we see people in inductions I am sure that you, like me have had the response “sorry Guv’ I’m not religious”, to which I always return “but you are human, aren’t you? So we’ll look after you.” When we treat people as people barriers fall down and the possibility for change rises up.

This month, I also met with a like-minded person in Ed Walker, founder and CEO of “Hope in Action”, a Christian charity based in Peterborough who have homes for the homeless (including people who have left prison) in 4 towns in the East / East Midlands. They are a real example of a “Project of Hope” and so I asked Ed to write me a few words to crystalise his vision and plans for “Hope into Action” I hope that you enjoy, and are inspired as I was.
 

"Five years ago, before the first house was even opened, I walked into HMP Peterborough and met a guy who had lost everything and needed a home.  Just as he needed a home, so I needed him….because I was opening a home and needed someone to live in it.
 

Five years on - he is still with us, working for us and has been promoted to become one of our key leaders, helping drive the organisation forward. That first home was supported by a local church and now we have 30 churches supporting 30 homes – each home has 2 or 3 tenants. So now, in a time of unprecedented budget cuts with charities going bust, we have over 60 people sleeping in and supported by church run homes.

Most of these people need not only a home but also a fresh set of relationships in order to break their cycle of crime, or homelessness. We believe that underlying so much homelessness, is a relational poverty. People need real friends, role models and guidance. Analyse your life without relationships and you will soon realise how important they are to your sense of well-being.  [Ever thought about the first thing God said was not good (Gen 2:18)? Bob]

That is our model – we give people a home and friendship and a support group from a local church. We have a particular heart for meeting people in prisons, then at the gate and then taking them to a home. We help them transition back into society. For them to stay in a home they need to engage with our mentors from the church whom we train in advance. Churches do all this in partnership with our professional support workers who cover the technical aspects such as tenancies, benefits, helping with employment agencies etc…..in this way the church can concentrate on what it does best: love, care, friendship, prayer, mentoring.

We will house anyone who is vulnerable, homeless and in need of a home. Often referrals come from drug agencies, homeless organisations or even the local church –we have a special form for former prisoners.

Often that first hour, day, week and month are critical. Even as they are walking out of the gate they may be ‘scoring some drugs’, so meeting them, taking them to their home, taking them to their first probation appointment is vital. We often find that their first benefit payment can take a few weeks to come through and so helping them into those first few weeks, providing them with food, is key. We love it when we see churches, working alongside our professionals to do this and then building lasting relationships with our tenants as they integrate into society and jobs.

Countless studies have stipulated that having somewhere to live, strong social capital and something to do is vital to the success of someone’s recovery. We believe the church is critically poised to provide a sense of love and security to those that need it most. We also see that, as state funded services shrink, now is the time for churches to hear that call and ‘provide the poor wanderer with shelter’ (Isaiah 58) and love. If you would like to get involved then please do get in touch!"

Ed Walker, CEO “Hope into Action” Ed.Walker@hopeintoaction.org.uk
http://hopeintoaction.org.uk/

Be Strong and Courageous

It has been a long ....  time since my last blog, for which I feel quite guilty (not condemned, just a touch of true guilt!) … so, as is the correct response to true guilt, I will get down to doing something about this.

The news over the last few days as the probable cause of the tragedy in Germany is being revealed has restarted a thought process which began at the start of the year. Sadly in the first six weeks of 2015 I attended three funerals, two of which were the result of friends taking their own lives. The desperation which these two young men must have felt still bewilders me, and draws me back to holding on tighter to our Lord, Saviour and deliverer. Life would be so much easier if things worked out in the way they do in the movies. But often they don’t.

I was reminded recently that Psalm 31 reflects real life, not some movie, TV show or Reality TV, but real, heart breaking life. In verse 10, David prays, considering that his life is being shortened because of grief. Perception of the world around is often changed by grief. I guess that many of the bereaved from the air disaster this week would echo the sentiments of the Psalmist here. If ever you've had difficulty in identifying with the "happy, happy, joy, joy, always happy" version of Christian faith then this Psalm is for you and me. I guess working in Prisons we are more immune to this than most, but David reminds us, as you he often does in the psalter of the value of facing reality, and still looking in hope for His help. (v17) The Psalms never overlook the darker side of life. Instead of pretending that difficulties never arise when you are following God, the Psalms show that sometimes even those "after God's heart" cry out in anguish. Life doesn't always work out with the underdog winning, the hero being loved or the bad person getting what they deserve. Holy week reminds us of this, Jesus knows this, the Psalmist knows this. As we enter this week of what can often be sombre reflection leading up to Good Friday, let us echo David as he prays;
 

 “But I am trusting you, O LORD, saying, "you are my God!" My future is in your hands. Rescue me from those who hunt me down relentlessly. Let you favour shine on your servant. In your unfailing love, rescue me." (vv14-16) (NLT)

Such a beautiful prayer from one who was wasting away in sorrow. Such trust. Such faith. Our hope is that even when life turns dark and things seem to go from bad to worse we will still be able to trust our future and our pain to God. He can take and understand it, He is able. He is love. He will see us through. “so be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the Lord!” (v24)

Best wishes for the Easter period … May you know Jesus’ blessings deeply this year

Come with me to a quiet place

August has seen many of my emails returned by “out of office” alerts as Chaplains take the time to rest; a good practice, commended by Jesus when he said - “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest”. (Mark 6: 31). At the end of June I too was fortunate enough to be able to take a week of rest in Snowdonia enjoying the countryside and doing a bit of climbing. Shortly before going, I changed my alert tone for texts on my phone from a fairly annoying bleep, to the sound of a steam train going “Toot, toot”!

Now I’m not a Steam buff really, but there is something quite reassuring about the sight, sound, smell, and sound of a steam train, and to see the Snowdonia Mountain train power its way across Cwm Glas on its way to the summit of Wales’ highest peak is quite a sight. When we think back to the Golden Age of Steam (further back than I can remember if I’m honest!) names like the Orient Express, The Mallard and of course the Flying Scotsman sit within our history. Each of these trains had to be fuelled by coal and fed with water. Even though they would run up and down the track, with seemingly effortless ease, their engines would work with great efficiency and determination to pull passengers to their destination. Every one of them had to rest and be refuelled. Each of them had to take time to recover before they ran out of steam.
 
Just like the steam engine, we can go about our everyday lives with seemingly effortless ease, but our spiritual engines are hard at work. A visit to the Segregation unit, a Bible Study group led well, a difficult pastoral encounter, an opportunity to share our faith. So it is in our best interests that we make time to be with God all by ourselves, to spend time resting, being restored and refreshed.
 
In this small verse Jesus invites us to take a rest with him. We cannot run on empty for too long, or we will run out of steam, eventually we will come to a stuttering halt and need more than a holiday break to get back on track. But the Prophet Isaiah reminds us: “those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint”. (Isa 40:31) “TOOT, TOOT”!

Recognising the still voice of God

I asked a prisoner recently “what changes have you seen in your day-day life since you’ve begun exploring your faith?”. His answer was simple, clear and I thought quite powerful. “I have begun to recognise and sometimes listen to the quiet voice of reason in the chaos of all the other things going on in my head”. Recognising the still, small voice of God is often the most powerfully motivating and inspiring transformation that we can experience.

So often when we look at Acts 2 with its description of tongues of fire and the sound of a mighty wind, we expect that this is the hallmark of the movement of the Holy Spirit.  We can look to see God’s activity in prison in the monumental or spectacular, the lifer turned pastor, the addict turned councillor, the steroid-abuser turned evangelist. I have often been tempted myself to try and look for this potential in prisoners I work with.  It’s as if I’m saying, ‘if the Holy Spirit is active in his life, surely that would be accompanied by sights and sounds and actions that are certain to amaze and impress.’  The logical conclusion to this would be, of course, that in the little things, the ‘ordinariness’ of our lives, the daily activity of listening to a prisoner’s grief  that the Holy Spirit of God is not active or moving. But nothing could be further from the truth.

 Of course God can move and inspire us to great heights, and throughout history God has performed great signs and wonders – we can think of things like the parting of the Red Sea during the Exodus of the Israelites when they left Egypt; or Elijah on Mount Carmel; or Jesus calming the stormy sea with a word; or the feeding of the 5000; or the apostles healing the lame man – but more often, God’s presence and the action of the Holy Spirit appear in less dramatic fashion –  the resurrected Jesus walking quietly beside the disciples on the road to Emmaus as an unknown stranger; the prophet Nathan confronting David through a riddle; or Elijah in the mouth of the cave hearing the still, small voice. We should never confuse the outward flash and show of something with its importance. 

We, or those we work with, might think that the movement of the Spirit is something outside our experience or our own ‘reach’ because, quite honestly, our lives are ordinary, or unspectacular.  In the first letter to the Corinthians, the Apostle tells us, “No one can say, ’Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit.’ In other words, just the urge to pray aloud or affirm that we believe Jesus is Lord, is a movement of the Holy Spirit.  It may not seem spectacular, or feel particularly exciting, but it is a movement of the Spirit just the same. And as the Spirit moves, we are transformed.

While we may not immediately see some spectacular or dazzling result in our circumstances from this movement, there will most definitely be an influence on others around us – and it is in that influence that the Spirit continues to move outward, reaching out through us, drawing us and others closer to God the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit.  That is indeed something spectacular and amazing.