Ready, steady, pray... for prison chaplains across the world!

The Free Churches Faith Adviser to the Prison Service, Revd Bob Wilson, serves as the Vice Chair to the International Prison Chaplains Association (IPCA). We are invited by Rev Bob and all the the members of the IPCA network to join in a global wave of prayer for the work and ministry of the IPCA!

A day of prayer is taking place for prison chaplains across the world on 25th August 2020. Please encourage your church fellowships to get involved by praying in your homes or by safely physically distancing in your churches (as appropriate).

Join with the Free Churches Group and many other ecumenical partners across the globe for the International Prison Chaplains Association (IPCA).

The theme for this year is: The Grace of God

The IPCA has produced an order of service, complete with readings from Scripture and prayers for you to share and pray through.

Join us as we pray together… you can download the prayer and worship resource HERE

(photo courtesy of Mike Labrum at Unsplash)

Loving God, we thank You that Your church extends beyond walls and fences...

Many years ago, while I was training for Christian ministry with the Congregational Federation (who are members of FCG) I had the honour of serving alongside a prison chaplaincy team at HMP Leyhill.

The module in which I was able to undertake this amazing placement was called - Serving God - beyond the church walls. It was one of the most remarkable and grace filled parts of my training and continues to inform and inspire my ministry to this day! Loving God, we thank You that Your church extends beyond walls and fences...

This week we see that the prayers we are encouraged to join with Prison Fellowship for are all about how the church extends beyond walls and how God gives us the opportunity to serve beyond the church building.

Revd Sara Iles, FCG Media Support Officer

Prison Fellowship Prayers for Sunday 26th July

God, your church extends beyond walls and fences, encompassing all who trust Jesus as their Saviour.

Thank you that we are united with our brothers and sisters in prison.

Amen

The Free Churches Group and our work in prison chaplaincy have worked with The Prison Fellowship (PF) for many years. Find out more about their work HERE. You can read and pray through their July Prayer Diary HERE. August’s prayer diary will be out soon!

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honourable,

whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable,

if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

Philippians 4:8

(photo courtesy of Lauriane Sevestre at Unsplash)

Free webinar - racial justice / criminal justice - what can your church do?

A free webinar is coming up on 22nd September from 6.30-8pm

It will be on the theme of racial justice / criminal justice and exploring what your church can do in light of these matters.

Key note speakers include:

Bishop Rose Hudson-Wilkin, Bishop of Dover and Vanessa Jardine, Deputy Chief Constable of West Midlands Police.

To register for this event please see link HERE.

Praying alongside the Prison Fellowship...

Will you join us to pray alongside Prison Fellowship this Sunday and in the days ahead?

Prison Fellowship’s mission is to “show Christ’s love to prisoners by coming alongside them and supporting them”… for the last 40 years they have been working with, supporting and praying with and for prisoners across England and Wales.

The Free Churches Group and our work in prison chaplaincy have worked with The Prison Fellowship (PF) for many years.

Did you know that there are two Church of England bishops who serve as what is known as ‘prison bishops’? They are Bishop James of Rochester and Bishop Rachel of Gloucester. The Bishop to Her Majesty's Prisons is an episcopal post relating to the church's chaplaincy to Her Majesty's Prison Service.

This Sunday we are encouraged to pray with Prison Fellowship for the work these ministers undertake advocating for prisoners.

Prayer for Sunday 19th July

We pray for Bishop James of Rochester and Bishop Rachel of Gloucester who are the “prison bishops” for the Church of England. Thank you God, for the passion you have given them for this work. Would you bless their ministry and their advocacy for those inside

Amen

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers…

Find out more about their work HERE. You can read and pray through their July Prayer Diary HERE.

(image courtesy of at Om Prakash Sethia Unsplash)

Racial Inequalities – what can your church do? Webinar on 23rd July

Webinar is coming up on the topic of: “Racial Inequalities – what can your church do”.

This will be on Thursday July 23rd; 2:00pm – 3:30pm.

Registration details via EventBrite

This webinar is the first in a series of four entitled “Racial Inequalities: What can your Church Do?” and is intended to equip the church in the widest sense to address some of the recommendations raised by the Lammy Report into racial disparities within the Criminal Justice system. This is a CPD Event for Free Churches Prison Chaplains

The series is intended to provide faith community leaders with practical but informed ideas for churches to take action that can help to reverse the worrying trends and see fairer outcomes for BAME people in the criminal justice system in England and Wales.

We have examined the Lammy report, and suggested the focus for the webinar series, ‘ChangingTACK’ – on how churches can build Trust, Accountability, Community and Knowledge which will help them improve outcomes for BME people in the criminal justice system”.

For this, the first webinar, we are looking at building Trust: how the church can build trusting relationships with the community it serves, with criminal justice bodies and the police/police and crime commissioner and with individual troubled young people. The format will be: three participants each talking for 7-10 minutes; up to ten minutes’ discussion between the participants; with the remaining time allocated to questions. We are pleased that the contributors for this first webinar will be

•                Bishop Rose Hudson-Wilkin (Bishop of Dover)

•                DCC Vanessa Jardine (Deputy Chief Constable West Midlands Police)

•                Revd Paul Rochester (General Secretary of Free Churches Group)

(photo courtesy of Hannah Busing at Unsplash)