THE WORK OF MISSIONS TO PRISONS IN THE UK
IS UNDERTAKEN IN SUPPORT OF AND IN CO-OPERATION WITH OTHERS
INCLUDING PRISON CHAPLAINS
AND
THOSE CONCERNED WITH THE RESETTLEMENT OF OFFENDERS
IS UNDERTAKEN IN SUPPORT OF AND IN CO-OPERATION WITH OTHERS
INCLUDING PRISON CHAPLAINS
AND
THOSE CONCERNED WITH THE RESETTLEMENT OF OFFENDERS
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Working with Prison Chaplains
Back in 1974 when this Trust was founded, part of it's purpose as listed in the Trust Deed was "the furthering of the preaching of the Christian gospel". We take this to include encouraging others - from whatever denomination or tradition - in their efforts to share this good news in word and deed. In practice this especially includes working alongside prison chaplains. Through the ministry of Christian chaplains prisoners are coming to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ or returning to a faith that had got so weak they thought there was no way back. To help them deal with issues in their lives and grow in their faith can involve understanding each individual's starting point and tailoring both the Bible Study Groups and individual study material to reflect this. We have some experience in this and from time to time it is our privilege, by invitation, to share with them in Bible Studies, faith specific courses, mission events etc. Working with Churches Prisoners who have come to faith - or come back to the Lord - whilst in prison, who have taken part in Christian activities in the chapel, studied the Bible and maybe witnessed to other prisoners can leave prison absolutely on fire for the Lord and looking forward to joining a "real" church. But is there a church ready and willing to receive them? In this connection, we try to find churches on behalf of such prisoners and also endeavour to raise awareness in churches of all denominations of the pastoral needs of these Christians after release. As part of this, from time to time we have run what we call "DO SOMETHING" Training Conferences. Lasting a full day and dealing with practicalities - not just "addressing issues and ticking boxes" - these events are arranged at the request of and in association with local churches. In addition to raising awareness, the aim, as the name implies, is to help equip these churches to do something! Resources We are not a big organisation and have no paid staff but we do try to respond positively to requests for support. In this connection it has been very encouraging to see a growing number of prisoners requesting a Bible of their own. Particularly popular is the NLT Life Recovery Bible which has excellent footnotes related to recovery from life controlling issues. Prisoners asking for these have often been introduced to it by Christian worker Marc Kelly in connection with his Step by Step Life Recovery Programme. We have also become aware of the large number of foreign nationals in UK prisons and, as part of our "FOCUS on JESUS" approach have begun to gather together material in other languages. We have a long way to go with this, but the Jesus Film on DVD which we have in some 30 languages is now available on free loan to prison chaplains. When this film was first released in the UK it beat box office records in the cinemas and has probably now been seen by more people than any other film. UK Prisons' Partnership Projects
Women's Prison "Act of Kindness" gifts.
Through this developing project run with the co-operation of prison departments such as the Gym, Diversity Department and Chaplaincy, prisoners in the UK are being given opportunities to get involved in projects aimed at improving the lot of prisoners in a far off country.
Typical projects have included a Governor's initiative when staff and prisoners took part in a sponsored row in the gym. This helped provide a water supply project for the women’s quarters in the remote Chencha Prison in southern Ethiopia. In an “Acts of Kindness” initiative led by the Diversity Department the women in the mother and baby unit of a North West prison made a variety of beautiful knitted goods for children in prison with their mothers in Ethiopia. Being able to help meet the needs of others affected by prison and poverty is proving to be very popular with the prisoners involved. ________________________________________________________________________________ The Not very Good News in UK Prisons Here in the UK the not very good news includes the reality that the prisons are still overcrowded - some very seriously so. When accompanied by low staffing levels and so many prisoners having mental health issues, it can be very difficult to protect the most vulnerable. Statistics published by the Ministry of Justice show 290 people died in custody in the 12 months to March 2016 - an increase of 51 when compared with the previous 12 months. Another sad reality is that during 2015 there were more than 32,000 incidents of self harm - an increase of 25% over 2014. |
Pictures inside UK prisons were all taken with permission. |