14 October 2024
In the South West Peninsula District, chaplains work together regardless of their faith or belief across several Category B and C prisons. The prisoners might, for example, be on remand and awaiting trial or sentencing, at the start of a long sentence, returning to prison after (sadly) only a very short time back in the community, be being held while awaiting assessment with a view to placement for mental health treatment, sex offenders, young offenders (aged 18 to 25) or even those coming to prison for the first time in the later years of life.
A prison chaplain’s “typical” day, if there is such a thing, is a mix of the routine and the unexpected. The routine involves a range of required daily duties like seeing every new prisoner within 24 hours of their arrival, as well as visiting men who are in the Care and Separation/Segregation Unit due to some form of disruptive behaviour. We lead weekly worship services and religious studies or plan key faith festivals alongside supporting our uniformed colleagues and medical professionals through pastoral support for particularly vulnerable prisoners (some of whom might have self-harmed). By “loitering with good intent” on the landings, in classrooms and workshops we are available to deepen informal relationships and respond to emerging needs and frustrations.
Chaplains also support the staff and their families, as well as being a vital additional ethical lens to the prison system.
Every interaction has the potential for the unexpected. Sometimes the unexpected is touching and at other times, deeply spiritual, funny, or heart-breaking. But it is always “real”, as the following stories hopefully show.
There was a young homeless man, “George”, who was repeatedly in and out of prison for short periods (often referred to as one of our frequent flyers). Despite his difficulties, he had a deep faith and never missed attending Mass. He said more than once that he wanted to be baptised but kept getting released before his wish could be realised. The day he was finally baptised and confirmed he was deeply moved, with tears in his eyes. He was released the following week.
“Harry” had a cheeky sense of humour. He asked Deacon Brian to be his God-parent/sponsor for his baptism and confirmation. One day, walking through the wing, Harry called out from the far end – “Daddy!” as Deacon Brian turned, he pointed at me and shouted, “Jesus loves you”. Deacon Brian pointed back at him: “And he loves you too.” He replied, “He probably loves me more though, ‘coz I don’t hassle him as you do.”
Other occasions are not so happy, but profound, like visiting “Tom”, a terminally ill man who had been transferred to a hospice and remained under guard by prison officers. The hospice provided a beautiful, serene environment for Tom’s last days where he was able to be cared for and have his family with him. To be able to accompany them all, share in their time of grief and witness the love and beautiful memories they shared, is a humbling privilege.
Those in prison can struggle with reading, meaning Bible Study can be a challenge. So a video series about Jesus’s ministry is a Godsend. The Chosen fits this bill brilliantly, portraying events in Jesus’s ministry and the impact Jesus has on his disciples and those he encounters. At the end of each episode, the men engage in a lively discussion about what struck them. Sometimes their responses are surprising and touching, like “Dick” who said he felt moved by the Gospel story of Matthew’s parents disowning him because he was a tax collector. This was only an incidental scene in the video, but it made “Dick” tear-up thinking about how his own family had disowned him.
Many other stories could be told; some not as “nice” as these. There is a victim behind each crime. There’s addiction, violence, domestic abuse, mental health and more. Prisoners are often victims too, in one way or another, but hopefully, these stories remind us to see beyond the crime and see the person Jesus loves. That is often the hardest message for the men and women in our prisons to accept: that they are loved and loveable.
So please continue to hold us in your prayers and, as one of our mantras goes that the prisoners love, live like you are “too blessed to be stressed”.