Chaplaincy and prisons

Gary Hopkins, Ministry Development Officer -Lay Ministries and Chaplaincy, shares this blog for Prisons Week (13 - 19 October).

When times are particularly challenging, when systems and structures are breaking down, when financial resources are depleted, who‘s there to support the people affected? Often it is chaplains who get amongst people and do what they can to ease the knock-on effects.

The current issues with overcrowding in prisons is beginning to spark fierce debate about Britain’s justice system – often a society’s justice system demonstrates how well it is supporting the positive development of its people. The breakdown in other services puts increasing pressure on the system – and so there is no easy fix. Quick political and financial decisions are made, but they have a lingering effect on individuals. It can be easy to debate the overarching issues, and forget the people who are impacted.

Chaplains are the people the Church sends into the world to be among those in need. They are the people who live out their calling for ‘the sake of the world’. They are also the people that help bring wisdom to the Church when it is at risk of forgetting the reality of people’s lives – when our conversations become detached from the stories, when we speak in theory, rather than grounded in the real lives of people.

I started my role supporting chaplaincy in the Methodist Church during lockdowns at the height of COVID. Very quickly I learnt of the work chaplains were doing. Like other sectors, prison chaplains were having to quickly adapt to restrictions. I was immensely impressed that at the heart of everything they were doing was the wellbeing of everyone in the prison: staff, colleagues, and prisoners. Restrictions were not going to prevent them serving individual’s needs – whether that meant using phones, other technology, or wearing PPE. The single-minded mission was to care, support and convey God’s love amidst the challenges.

Even when prisons are functioning in a way that might seem ‘normal’, they are challenging places for chaplains, but during this time of immense pressure on the system, the challenges continue to increase – and in the midst of it, they commit to their vocation of serving the needs of those they walk among. They are the people in the midst of debates and political decisions who care for those affected, who desire to see lives transformed, and convey the message that God never gives up on anyone – there is always possibility for change.

However, prison chaplains are not the only people called to serve for ‘the sake of the world’. We, God’s people, the Church, are also called to serve. How might we help our prison chaplains? Firstly, pray for them. Secondly, reach out to them to show support and ask how we might help as individuals and church communities – what might we learn from chaplains about the needs of prisoners, particularly those who are being released early.

Finally, the effective work of prisons and prison chaplains relies on wider social systems and structures. How might the church be positively part of these wider structures in building a loving, caring society where lives are transformed by the love of God. One of the ways this can happen is through the Welcome Directory. The Welcome Directory has a simple yet powerful vision: empowering faith communities to welcome prison leavers, supporting the resettlement of people leaving prison through faith-based social inclusion. We are called to do our bit – and at this crucial time, maybe this is the ‘bit’ we can help with.