Ministry behind the bars

A growing Christian ministry among the prison population is changing lives for the better. Members of at least two churches in Harpenden are actively involved in this ministry, which is named Prison Fellowship. This article, published in High Street News Aug/Sept 2011, describes some of their work. The Bible says in Luke's Gospel, "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel for he has visited and redeemed his people." The OED defines the word 'redeem' as "to purchase the freedom of another; to save, rescue or reclaim." Ray was a career burglar, and has been in prison many times. John mugs people. Hez is a drug dealer. Al is a street fighter who has put many in hospital. His last victim died. What are we to do with these men? Lock them up and throw away the key? The cost to the rest of us of doing that would be enormous, as the going rate for each is some £45,000 a year, let alone the cost of building all those extra prisons. And if we are to keep them there indefinitely, who is to look after their wives and children? Released prisoners have a high re-offending rate. Current Home Office statistics say that nearly two-thirds of ex-prisoners will be re-convicted within two years of leaving prison. This imposes a huge cost on the rest of us and diminishes our society. I work with Prison Fellowship, a Christian organisation that believes in redemption and change. Its motto is "seeing lives transformed". It believes that instead of wasting the lives of the men inside and perpetuating their cycle of crime and misery, there is a better way which is based firmly on Christian principles. We believe that people can change; that change can be for the better; and that prisoners can be redeemed and restored to a proper place in society. This is not 'pie in the sky'. We are working towards a better society today, in ' which men and women do not waste their lives at the expense of the rest of us. The work that Linda Downie and I do with Prison Fellowship is at our nearest prison, Bovingdon. You may be surprised to know that 850 men are locked up just a few miles from here. They have committed all the crimes I referred to above, and many more. We help to present a six week course approved by the Home Offíce. The course is based on biblical values, but does not seek to convert the men to Christianity. Instead, during the course we use role play, chalk and talk, videos and discussion in small groups where they cannot hide from big questions.

These questions challenge the men, who by this time have become skilled at refusing to face up to what they have done. By the end of the course they will have acknowledged what they have done, their responsibility for it, and the harm they have caused to other people. They will have begun to see that change for the better is possible and beneficial. They will also have faced up to their responsibility to make restitution. And if some kind of restoration to their victim is not possible, they will have begun to think about how they can work off their debt to society. It is a difficult course for the men. We all know how hard it is to take responsibility for our mistakes, to apologise to people we have hurt, and to decide to change. For these men, the burden of responsibility for the suffering they have caused would be impossible to carry alone, so we move on to forgiveness and restoration. I have discovered during my time on the course that these are more than concepts. They are positive, constructive pathways that lead to redemption and healing. When I heard a man who was a prolific and violent robber admit to what he had done, admit too that no apology could ever be enough to make up for it, and think seriously about how he could change his life so that restitution might be possible, I realised that the power of the Gospel was real. We base the course on the story of Zacchaeus, found in just a few verses in Luke 19. Zacchaeus had been the source of misery in his town of Jericho. After an encounter with Jesus he re-assessed his own life and actions. He acknowledged publicly what he had done, and he made restoration to his victims and his community. Jesus summed up the change in Zacchaeus by saying that salvation had come to his household. The root of the word salvation is "healing", very apt for the situation Luke was describing and for the work of Prison Fellowship. There is a cost for the course - the videos need to be well made, the work books need to be well presented, and there is independent assessment of the completed books leading to an educational qualification for the men. To find out more about the work of Prison Fellowship, visit their website http://www.prisonfellowship.org.uk/ If you would like to know more, or witness one of the courses, or perhaps consider getting involved locally, please contact me or Linda Downie via the church office. We will be very happy to answer your questions. Richard Thomas, High Street Methodist Church