Churches mark Prisons Week
Prisoners, prison staff, victims of crime, families of prisoners and prison chaplains will be prayed for each day in churches for a week in October as Diocese of Llandaff partners with Prisons Week.
Prisons Week publicly connects through prayer criminal justice and outreach work allowing the diocese to advocate for a practical and material change in attitudes in congregations and communities towards prisoners in Wales. This year for the first time, the prayer resources have been published in English and Welsh.
God’s love can reach out to them, and it can transform their lives
There are five prisons and two custodial units for children in Wales. The Revd Nick Sandford is Managing Chaplain for Public Sector Prisons in South Wales.
He said, “As part of the Prisons Week, we won't just be thinking about people in prison. We'll also be thinking about what we can do as a prison service to help people rehabilitate themselves. In the long term, the whole thing of prison is about reducing crime, reducing reoffending, and not creating more victims.
“Prisoners are just people from the community who have to come to prison for a short time and then go back out into the community. We are praying that they can find focus for their lives when they're released.”
The Bishop of Llandaff, June Osborne, the Church's bishop for prisons, is leading on the daily prayer videos published throughout the week, starting on Prison Sunday on 9th October.
In her introduction, she said, “It is important that we pray for this sphere of our social life. We know that life in prison can be harsh, even brutal. But we also know because we hear the witness of it from prisoners and ex-prisoners that during their time in prison, God’s love can reach out to them, and it can transform their lives.”
The Welcome Directory
The Welcome Directory aims to help faith communities become places where people who leave prison find acceptance; a place to belong that not only nurtures faith but also offers appropriate practical support.
This is particularly important for those who have found the benefits of being part of a faith community whether inside or outside the prison gates. At a fundamental level, The Welcome Directory hopes to open the church’s eyes to see that those leaving prison have a name, a story, and hopes and dreams for their lives beyond the prison gate.
Chaplain Nick said, “When we welcome ex-prisoners, we want it to be done in a safe way, for both the ex-offender and for the church. We work with safeguarding officers and with parish authorities to support them in accepting prisoners back into the community. And then churches can have additional help in supporting people.
“But also, for a lot of prisoners it's belonging to a community. We try to get them away from their life of offending. If they go back to where they've come from, to the same friends, they'll just have the same actions. If they come to faith - which they do, a lot of people explore the Christian faith - we can then send them out with a positive community of people, with positive thoughts and positive influences on their life.”
Why Prisons Week is important
Nick has been serving at prisons since his placement as a training priest.
He said, “We believe as a prison chaplaincy that God can change lives. God can change people to turn away from a career of crime and to a more positive way of life, and we [prison chaplains] need the support in that and prisoners need the support in that through praying.
“We can ask God to bless our work in prisons because most of the work in prisons is done to rehabilitate people, whether it be through positive things like education, work, family behaviour programmes, substance misuse, all these sorts of things. We pray that these programmes will be successful, but also that prisoners are willing to change and can see a new focus in their lives; that God will show them that there is interaction for them and that things don't have to carry on as they always have. I'm really proud to be a prison chaplain.”
Diocesan Senior Outreach Officer, Christoph Auckland is responsible for co-ordinating Prisons Week in the Diocese of Llandaff.
He said, “That is the power of Prisons Week. By uniting in prayer and opening our hearts to prisons, prisoners and those affected by crime, we can begin a conversation about faith and criminal justice. By following St Paul's example in his Letter to the Hebrews to “remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering,” we start to transform attitudes towards all those affected by crime.”
If you would like to involve your church in Prisons Week 2022, please go to The Prisons Week page for intercessions, readings, prayers and leaflets.