Annual National Free Church Prison Chaplains Training, Fire Service Training College, Moreton in Marsh in the Cotswolds from 23rd - 25th Nov 22

The National Free Churches Chaplains training will be held at the wonderful Fire Service Training College, Moreton in Marsh in the Cotswolds from 23rd through to 25th November. Registration on Day 1 will start at 11 am, with departure after lunch on Friday.

Our theme this year will be “For when I am weak …” from 2 Corinthians 12:10. We all know how this scripture ends, and how the apostle Paul says that he delights in his trials. However, there are times for many of us where we are so very weak that we are unable to experience that which we know to be true.

Image from Youversion

This year, the National Free Churches Chaplains’ Training will be focusing, with the expert help of Dr. John Andrews, international speaker, author, and motivator, the practical support of the HMPPS wellbeing team, and the grace of God we experience in our fellowship with one another, on getting back some of that spiritual resilience in our lives. We will have a fairly full programme for the prison chaplains to engage with over the three days (48 hours) we have together, but for me, it is crucially important that you find the time in the training to recharge spiritually in a way that is appropriate to each individual. This event is for all who are endorsed and serving as prison chaplains from Free Churches traditions, whether paid or unpaid, sessional or contracted.

This event will count as 17 hours of Spiritual Development CPD. Spiritual Development CPD is an endorsement requirement for all Free Churches Chaplains.

It is now 5 years since our last National Free Churches Chaplains event. This one is shaping up to be the best yet!

To register, please visit the Eventbrite site here.

Please cascade this information to your regional prison chaplaincy contact as you feel is most appropriate.

Revd Bob Wilson

Secretary for Prisons Chaplaincy

Thank you from Bob and I and from all at Prisons Week!

It’s a heartfelt and prayerful THANK YOU from Revd Bob Wilson and I from FCG (pictured below) and from all of the sponsors of Prisons Week for joining hundreds of us in a wave of prayer throughout the week of prayer for Prisons Week.

You can continue to pray, view and share the Prisons Week materials throughout the year and we look forward to praying with you all again in October Prisons Week 2022.

Revd Bob Wilson sharing at Prisons Week event

Revd Sara Iles, at a Congregational Federation church, Bethlehem Blaenavon (CF are members of FCG)

A prayer for letting go and letting God heal and restore... during Prisons Week

Let us walk together through the week in prayer, in Prisons Week, and grow in our understanding of the value God places on each one of his children, so that like the ravens we may soar, free at last, trusting in the knowledge of his provision and love for us.

A heartfelt and faithful prayer and reflections from a prisoner… all about letting go and letting God heal and restore….

LETTING GO
”Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Hebrews 12:1

I was down and thinking of behaviours before I decided to let go, let God heal and restore. I’d done drugs, sex and violence in the past to cope. But they all left me empty , and no feeling of hope. When I read through the scripture, something happens in me - I want to do good things and be with God’s family. You can’t change the past, but the future you can. If you’re looking for hope, then God has a plan.

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To join in a 24 hour wave of prayer with a session hosted by Revd Bob Wilson

on 15th October from 7-8pm register HERE.

(cover photo courtesy of Steve Halama @ Unsplash)

"Every day I pray for the strength to continue to live through this pain..." Praying in Prisons Week

Please pray with us each day during Prisons Week, these prayers offered by chaplains, serving prisoners, police officers, victims of crime, prison leavers, family members and communities – crying out to God, asking for help, responding in faith, giving thanks for his unending love, grace and mercy. Prayer for Tuesday 12th October, as part of a week of prayer for Prisons Week

ACCEPTANCE

”All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and

following its desires and thoughts.” Ephesians 2:3

Let us pray.

Every day I pray for the strength to continue to live through this pain, the pain of separation from my beloved, the strength to hold my children safe as they struggle to comprehend what has happened to us. I pray for the signs to guide our family through this experience with love and compassion, so that we all grow and flourish with the wisdom that is part of the Divine plan that holds us all safe. I pray that I will understand how to use this experience for good and transform the pain to joy in the future, I pray to let go of distress and find acceptance in the peace that miracles will replace all grievances, for therein lies the peace of God.

Amen

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To find out more about the vital work of Prisons Week and how to join in the week of prayer alongside them:

(Cover photo by Camila Quintero Franco at Unsplash)

Let us pray... during Prisons Week

Join with us and with hundreds of others across the country, during the week ahead, for a time of prayer for Prisons Week.

(cover photo courtesy of Jack Sharp @ Unsplash)