'Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.' Hebrews 4 v16 NKJV
Foreword by Rt Rev Richard Moth Bishop of Arundel and Brighton and Catholic Bishops' Conference Liaison Bishop for Prisons
"To boldly go where no one has gone before" Who can forget these immortal words of Captain James T. Kirk announcing his star trekking mission?
The writer to the Hebrews recognises an even more challenging journey in his call to boldness. And yet it is a journey that anyone can travel, especially at times of need, the journey to a God who promises justice, grace and mercy ... More
The Prisons Week Prayer - Lord, you offer freedom to all people. We pray for those in prison. Break the bonds of fear and isolation that exist. Support with your love prisoners and their families and friends, prison staff and all who care. Heal those who have been wounded by the actions of others, especially the victims of crime. Help us to forgive one another, to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly together with Christ in his strength and in his Spirit, now and every day. Amen.
For those who are prisoners
Inside a cell, the temptation is to give up, to abandon hope and just wait for release. It requires courage and boldness for any one of us to acknowledge wrongdoing and seek forgiveness.
Merciful God, full of grace, give strength and humility to confess any wrongdoing. Give to all those who seek truth the courage to approach you, to ask for mercy and forgiveness. For all who come to you with empty hands and impoverished imaginations, may your power and inspiration fill their hearts and minds, leading to a real understanding that all things are possible with you. So may they boldly go forward into new life through your Son, our risen Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
Additional resources for Monday
Caring for Ex-Offenders
Caring for Ex-Offenders connects individuals leaving prison with local church communities in the area to which they are resettling. The central team based at Holy Trinity Brompton trains new volunteers for local teams throughout the year and holds termly support evenings.
Clean Sheet is a Christian charity – empowering local churches and employers to support prisoners and ex-offenders into the world of work by offering a unique 3-Step Pathway from prison to employment.
Langley House Trust (including Kainos Community)
Langley House Trust is a national charity which delivers offender rehabilitation services across England, supporting adult offenders and those at risk of offending – enabling them to make positive life changes and live crime-free. It is established on Christian principles and foundations but their services are for anyone – those with faith or no faith. Kainos Community is part of Langley House Trust and delivers the Challenge to Change programme in prisons in England.
Prisoners Abroad
Prisoners Abroad is a human rights and welfare charity providing humanitarian aid, advice and emotional support to people affected by overseas imprisonment. We assist British citizens during their incarceration, when they return to the UK and need access to resettlement services, and we also support their family and friends throughout the trauma.
Prison Fellowship mobilises volunteers from the Christian community, through prayer, practical care and values-based programmes, such as the Sycamore Tree, to restore all those affected by crime. Its services are provided to all who request them, regardless of their religious beliefs. Volunteers from local Prison Fellowship prayer groups support prisoners by visiting, befriending and giving practical help, as well as helping with chapel services and discussion groups.
Through outreach, accredited non-formal education, and through-the-gate resettlement mentoring, we help equip and empower young people and young adults to break the cycle of offending and reoffending.
Welcome Directory
The Welcome Directory helps 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.
For victims of crime
To become the victim of a crime is to be undermined at a very deep level, to become distrustful and fearful for the future. Others are needed, to gather round to sustain and support; God's grace and strength is needed to carry on.
Loving Father, we pray for all who are the victims of crime, give them the strength, courage and power they need to step boldly into the future, comforted and supported by your Holy Spirit. Help them conquer their fears in the company of those who love and care for them. Build them up and inspire them, restore their confidence and lead them into new life through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Additional resources for Tuesday
Chris Donovan Trust
"We want people to understand what it is like to be a victim and through that knowledge prevent them from creating more victims."
When families of perpetrators or victims are caught up in the consequences of crime, it can be costly and shocking; turning the familiar upside down, stripping away any sense of security or comfort and exposing the innocent and uninvolved to distress, judgement and condemnation. It could happen to any one of us.
Generous God, always ready to share your gifts with us, we are all your children who could at any time be caught up in criminality or need to care for our loved ones as they deal with imprisonment or victimhood. Be present and strengthen those who are supporting the victims of crime, those who visit prisoners and await their release. Give support to the damaged and vulnerable, so that they can come boldly before you and claim your promises of grace, mercy and new life through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Additional resources for Wednesday
Pact is a national charity which supports people affected by imprisonment. We provide practical and emotional support to prisoners' children and families, and to prisoners themselves.
Spurgeons
Founded over 150 years ago, Spurgeons is a children's charity supporting vulnerable children, young people and their families, including prisons work in the east and south of England.
For our communities
Prisoners and victims of crime all come from our communities, and return to them. We need to boldly proclaim the role of communities as places of nurture, renewal and healthy growth for individuals. They need to become places where honesty and humility are possible and where we seek new and bold, life changing solutions to social inequality and lack of neighbourliness.
God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit living in loving relationship, teach us to acknowledge our need of you, remind us that the repentant sinner is always welcome in your kingdom, that the criminal can serve their sentence and be welcomed back, and that the poor and disadvantaged are loved and valued. Help us to recognise one another always as brothers and sisters in your family, made in your image and worthy of all reverence and respect. We ask this in the name of our brother Jesus. Amen.
Additional resources for Thursday
Community Chaplaincy Association
Community Chaplaincies are independent faith based voluntary organisations working alongside prisoners, ex-prisoners and their families, offering mentoring and holistic support within prison, through the gates and out in the community.
Churches in Communities
Churches in Communities brings together independent churches, Christian ministries and apostolically-centred networks nation-by-nation around the world.
For those who work in prisons
Working in a prison is a hard job, involving risks and difficulty and not well understood by others. It can bring out the best and the worst in any of us. Every day prison staff deal with the vulnerable and dangerous, often with great boldness and imagination, despite the lack of resources and recognition.
Living God, give to all those who work in our prisons boldness and confidence, grace and courage in the face of distress and danger. Keep their energy levels high, and fill them with your Holy Spirit. May they support one another and strengthen hope in all those for whom they care. Merciful and generous God,
pour out all the richness of your gifts into our prisons that your light might triumph. We ask this in the name of Jesus our Saviour. Amen.
Additional resources for Friday
Her Majestey's Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS)
For all working in the criminal justice system
Those who work in the Criminal Justice System are trying to square diminishing resources and increasing demands, at the same time as trying to balance justice and mercy. They need bold vision and imagination, wisdom and discernment and our support, for they act on our behalf.
Gracious God, with you all things are possible. Be present with all those who seek to administer justice wisely and well. Give to them a bold vision, and your Spirit of wisdom and discernment as they try to balance justice with mercy amid demands for harsh and punitive sentences. Surround them with the grace and strength needed to carry these heavy responsibilities. We ask this in the name of our eternal arbiter and judge, Christ Jesus. Amen.
Additional resources for Saturday
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