A week of prayer coming up...

Prisons Week aims to encourage prayer and awareness of the needs of prisoners and their families, victims of offenders, prisons staff and all those who care, reflected in the Prisons Week Prayer offered throughout the week:

Each day of the week, a new prayer brings into focus a different group affected by prison or criminal justice. Churches and individuals are also asked to reflect on what they might do or offer as part of their response, through the range of Christian agencies and charities involved in supporting Prisons Week.

The prayer sheet for Prisons Week this year can be downloaded, prayed through and shared HERE.

(photo courtesy of Rohit Guntur @ Unsplash)

Prisons Week - free event with amazing keynote speakers: Southwark Cathedral: 17th October

Coming up very soon… to help us to focus on Prisons Week… 17th October at Southwark Cathedral

Engaging in conversation with Christians in criminal justice.

Keynote speakers: Robert Buckland QC MP and Rev Rose Hudson-Wilkin.

The 2019 Prisons Week lecture arrives at Southwark Cathedral for an evening with Robert Buckland QC MP, Lord Chancellor & Secretary of State for Justice, and Rev Rose Hudson-Wilkin, the incoming Bishop of Dover.

Hear from keynote speakers on the theme of FREEDOM and engage in dialogue with Christians and Christian organisations working and volunteering in courts, prison, probation and the community as a whole.

There will be a time for networking from 6pm-6:45pm in the cathedral refectory, with the formal lecture part beginning at 7pm The evening is expected to finish at 8:30pm.

To book your free place and find out more click here.

(photo courtesy of Dyu-Ha at Unsplash)

What does freedom mean to you? And are you free?

What does freedom mean to you? If I was to consult the dictionary it might tell me that freedom is the “power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants” or “the state of not being imprisoned or enslaved”. I could say that I feel particularly free when I am on holiday or when I am in prayer. Freedom might mean very different things to us depending on our background or current circumstances.

With inspiration from Psalm 111:9, this is the question that Prisons Week illuminates in the resources and prayers for our churches to share and pray through from 13th-19th October.

‘He sets his people free.

He made his agreement everlasting.

He is holy and wonderful.’

(Ps. 111:9 NCV)

In the opening sentences for this year’s Prison Week prayer sheet, we read that, “God’s will and intention for all his people is freedom – the freedom to be the people he created them to be.”

Download your free prayer sheet and share in your churches and groups.

For over forty years Prisons Week has prepared prayer literature for the Christian community to use as they pray for the needs of all those affected by prisons: prisoners and victims, their families, their communities, those working and volunteering in prisons and the criminal justice system.

(photo courtesy of Aaron Burden @ Unsplash)

PRISON - the facts - Summer 2019

Each season The Prison Reform Trust publish a bulletin outlining the state and statistics in British prisons.

They are a registered independent charity and their mission is to work to create a just, humane and effective penal system. They do this by inquiring into the workings of the system; informing prisoners, staff and the wider public and by influencing Parliament, government and officials towards reform.

The Prison Reform Trust's main objectives are: reducing unnecessary imprisonment and promoting community solutions to crime; improving treatment and conditions for prisoners and their families; promoting equality and human rights in the justice system.

You can read their latest news here.

The independent nature of the work they do means they can dig deep into the issues and policies affecting those serving prison sentences. You can read the summer report (Bromley Briefing) in full here… but here are a couple of stats which show some of the issues facing the sector and the prison population this summer: “The overall quality of teaching and learning in prisons in England has declined. Just two-fifths (42%) of prisons were rated as ‘good’ or better by inspectors in 2017–18, down from half the year before. More than three in five (62%) of people entering prison were assessed as having a reading age of 11 or lower —over three times higher than in the general adult population (15%).”

*** How does your church get involved with the life and times of those in prison and on their release?

Why not join in the wave of prayer for prisons in Prisons Week, coming up from 13th-19th October?

Perhaps you could offer a welcome to those who are leaving prison? The Welcome Directory can help you to prepare for this.

Theme for Prisons Week this year is based on Freedom - ‘He sets his people free. He made his agreement everlasting. He is holy and wonderful.’ Psalm 111:9 (NCV)

(photo courtesy of Damon Lam at Unsplash)

All are welcome...

The Welcome Directory has a simple yet powerful vision: 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.

The FCG, with other partners, pioneered the beginnings of the The Welcome Directory which was set up as an independent charity in 2016.

There’s been lots going on for this charity lately, as they develop links with churches and faith groups to support those leaving prison - you can read all about their latest work HERE.

If you want to hear about their work on a regular basis, then why not register for their free newsletter?

Be part of this movement, be part of a place which offers hope…