Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you - learn more about the vital work of The Welcome Directory!

The Free Churches Group, with other partners, pioneered the beginnings of the The Welcome Directory which was set up as an independent charity in 2016. 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 Welcome Directory works with faith communities to address the barriers facing those leaving prison and to help prison leavers with faith to identify welcoming faith communities to support beyond the gates. We want to help communities like yours to welcome prison leavers, the way Christ has welcomed you!

Since it was established as a charity 5 years ago, we are delighted to report The Welcome Directory has gone from strength to strength - there are now nearly 200 faith communities (including dozens of churches) who have committed to offer a warm welcome to those leaving prison! What an awesome achievement! We thought it would be a good time to share a bit more about their vital work in supporting faith groups across our communities to give a warm welcome to people leaving custody and to help you to find out more and see how your church could get involved in this important work!

Last month, I took some time to talk to Serena, from The Welcome Directory, who works as their brilliant Communications and Fundraising Officer - and as part of their amazing wider team led by Emily Green (Project Manager). I am grateful to Serena for the wide ranging and encouraging conversation we had and so I am sharing these reflections with you; I have always been greatly moved and inspired by the work of The Welcome Directory and I hope and pray that after reading this thoughtful and touching piece that you will feel moved to get involved too…. Let’s hear all about it, right from the heart of the work of The Directory!

Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you

Love. Forgiveness. Acceptance. Empathy for those who struggle... These principles underpin so many of our faith teachings, but how do they translate into our daily practices? We’d all like to believe we have these qualities in abundance, but how do we measure up when we’re challenged to accept people we perceive as ‘other’?

In Matthew 25:31–40, we are called upon to feed the hungry, to welcome strangers, and to visit people in prison. Time and again the Bible shows how Jesus embraces the marginalised and forgives those who stray. We must strive to follow in this example, and to love and welcome one another as warmly as we would welcome Jesus himself, for: “whatever you did for these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

However, when it comes to welcoming people who have left prison, this can be easier said than done. It is estimated that only 20% of prison leavers with faith feel able to join new faith communities upon release, and we may not be aware of the invisible barriers that exist within our own communities.

The Welcome Directory works with faith communities to address such barriers and help prison leavers with faith to identify welcoming faith communities to support beyond the gates. We want to help communities like yours to welcome prison leavers, the way Christ has welcomed you.  

We are a small multi-faith charity, working to maintain a directory of faith communities that are committed to welcoming and appropriately supporting people who leave prison. The Welcome Directory is used by prison leavers and their support teams to develop positive plans for release, and to overcome the prevalent fear of rejection.

We help empower faith communities to welcome prison leavers, and offer a free Prisons Awareness Course to shed light on the experiences of imprisonment and release, and to address any concerns which might prevent communities from welcoming, accepting and supporting people who leave prison

“We have benefited greatly from being part of The Welcome Directory. It’s equipped us to better serve ex-prisoners and to welcome them in our church community. We can offer welcome, and support people who wants to rebuild their lives. If more churches connected with The Welcome Directory, there would be a great impact upon ex-prisoners’ lives and reduce reoffending.” - Jubilee Church hull (registered church)

The power of faith

“Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds” the apostle James says (James 2:18).

The Christian faith is most clearly demonstrated in our interactions with our fellows. We aim to help faith communities to live out their faith teachings and enjoy the blessing of connecting with prison leavers who can enrich their congregations.

Within the prison walls, faith can be a lifeline, offering hope when it is needed most. During a sentence, individuals are guided by supportive chaplaincy teams. Beyond the gates, faith communities could offer similar support, as they offer a unique sense of belonging, connection and acceptance, and inclusion within them is shown to reduce reoffending and help people to enjoy a truly fresh start.

Sadly, often these connections are not forged, leaving prison leavers to navigate the tumultuous transition of release alone... We work to overcome the barriers and facilitate such connections, inspired by stories like the ones below.

Real-life experiences

After years of searching, Richard described the life-changing moment when he finally connected with a welcoming faith community:

“I felt this love, this peace and this joy just washing through me. I felt like I’d been born again; in that moment I felt like I was freed from my addictions” he went on to describe how: “The members of my church were like the arms and the mouths of God to help me, to feed me and guide me on my path. If I didn’t have the support of my faith community, I don’t think I’d be around today.”

Likewise, we asked Samman, a prison leaver of Muslim faith, how his journey would have been different without his welcoming faith communities. He said:

“Without the support of my community I would have been lost. I would feel like I’d been rejected, which would be devastating because my faith means a lot to me and sharing that with other people is so important.”

These moving stories show the difference we can make when we choose to welcome and love one another in friendship, just as gracious Christ lovingly welcomes us.

What we hope to achieve

Our goal is to reach the stage where our resource can be used to help all prison leavers with faith to identify a welcoming community in their area, wherever they are, whatever they believe.

Right now, our directory represents over 190 faith communities (including churches, mosques, gurdwaras and more), but there is still a lot of work to be done. There are geographic areas and numerically smaller faiths which are presently underrepresented in our directory. We are working to improve representation in these areas, and you can help us achieve this. How can you be involved?

We invited you above to reflect on the ideas of love, acceptance and compassion for those who struggle. If you’ve been inspired from reading about our work and the difference you could make for prison leavers like Richard, I invite you to reflect on the following...

Register with us

If you believe that your faith community has the loving heart and practical understanding to welcome prison leavers, you could apply to register with us today. For more information on what that would mean, visit our website HERE.

Join our Prisons Awareness Course

If you’re interested to learn more, we’d love to welcome you to our free Prisons Awareness Course. This comes with no obligation to register; it is simply a chance to learn more, ask questions and reflect on whether registration is right for you. For more information, click HERE.

Spread the word

The more communities and individuals we connect with, the more we can encourage people to open their hearts and consider welcoming people who leave prison. We warmly invite you to share our name and story with your friends and acquaintances, and encourage them to make contact.

Join us in Prayer

Finally, we are a prayerful organization and believe in the value of lifting our hearts, and asking our loving God to bless our work and guide those struggling on their journey towards peace. Therefore, in closing, we invite you to join us in prayer.

“Loving God, we thank you that you welcome all people who come to you.
We thank you that despite our own failings, you have set us on a path of transformation, helping us to become more like the people you would have us be. Lord, help us to reflect that openness of heart, showing care and compassion for all who are in need, wisely offering a hand up to those who may have stumbled, humbly drawing on your strength to do this. May we know your peace, and your power as we walk alongside those leaving prison so that together we may see the transformation that you have in mind for us all.”

— Amen

Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you

Sara Iles, FCG Media Support Officer (in conversation with Serena Bailey from The Welcome Directory)

Commissioning Service for Chaplains in schools and colleges - 12th September

We are delighted to announce that Centre for Chaplaincy in Education are hosting a Commissioning Service for Chaplains in schools and colleges (online) on 12th September at 4 P.M.

This is an annual global commissioning service for all chaplains who work with schools and colleges, (on the same day as Education Sunday) is being organised by the Centre for Chaplaincy in Education.

It’s taking place online at 4 P.M. and you can register here.

You don’t have to be a chaplain to attend, so please join if you’d like to support and pray for chaplains in these settings – but do encourage any chaplains you know to join the service. Our very own Hugh Osgood and Sarah Lane Cawte are taking part, representing the Free Churches.

(cover photo courtesy of Anton Sukhinov at Unsplash)

How can your church support students

How your church can support students….

The A-level results are out, and many young people are looking forward to starting their university career in a few weeks’ time. For some of them, this will be the first time they’ve been away from home without family or friends, and it’s a big step. Whether you have young people in your church family who are starting university for the first time, or others who are returning, you might be wondering how you can support them.

If your church is in a place where there is a university nearby, there will be many new students in the area in the next few weeks. We have produced a series of 4 leaflets to help you think about what you can do as a church to support students in universities.

Branching Out offers suggestions about how to support those who are part of your church and who are going away.
Keeping in Touch explores ways in which you can maintain contact with young people who are starting student life.
Making a Difference is a collection of ideas about how to support university students in your community.
Home from Home will help you think about supporting students who come to your church.

These leaflets are free to download from the Free Churches Group website HERE.

We do have a limited number of printed copies available if you would like to circulate them around a group of churches, for example. Please contact our Education Secretary, Sarah Lane Cawte, if you would like us to send some to you (sarah.lane.cawte@freechurches.org.uk). We are only able to send these in quantities of 10 or above for each leaflet and would be pleased to receive a donation towards the cost of postage.

(cover photo courtesy of Redd @ Unsplash)

“I’ve had enough, Lord” (1 Kings 19:4)

David Buick, President of the International Prison Chaplains Association, who works closely with our Free Churches Faith Adviser, Revd Bob Wilson, as part of that Association, shares some thought-provoking and encouraging words with us, in his recent blog. Although the article is aimed at prison chaplains, it spoke volumes to me in my wider life and for my ministry, so I hope and pray that it is a blessing and an encouragement to you too…. Buick writes:

“At times of fatigue I’m constantly drawn to the story of Elijah as he flees into the desert after being threatened by Jezebel. Can there be any of us who at one time or another have not echoed his prayer, “I’ve had enough, Lord” (1 Kings 19:4)? As chaplains, we are constantly giving – and also constantly receiving, although not in the same way. We receive people’s pain, suffering, uncertainty, fear, and anger – indeed, on some occasions, like Elijah, we receive threats. It’s not always easy to offload all that, and not surprising if we too feel we need some time out.”

Buick, who lives in France, goes on to say, “I love the way God deals with Elijah. After allowing him some rest, the first thing he provides is not a counselling session, but food and drink. Indeed, in many French translations, the angel God sends is said to provide a galette, a savoury pancake that is a speciality in the Brittany region of France where I live and work, so that always raises a smile for me. Food and drink: God is present in practical details, and locally, individually, as well as worldwide. He “remembers that we are but flesh” (see Ps 78:39). Even as we perform our distinctive chaplaincy role as ministers of the presence of God, let’s not try to be more spiritual than he is! Let’s not neglect the practical and material aspects of our lives; God doesn’t.  The provision of food and drink occurs twice. I don’t know what was in the second galette, but it was enough to keep Elijah going for forty days and forty nights. Even when we’re experiencing burnout, God can keep us going from day to day as needs be.”

“It’s once Elijah has reached the mountain of the Lord that God speaks to him. As so often, God’s word comes in the form of a question: “what are you doing here?” That’s a good question to ask ourselves from time to time in our ministry, and the answer can come on multiple levels.”

Drawing his thoughts together, Buick says, “All of us our doubtless familiar with the way God responds to Elijah’s complaint through the “still small voice of calm”. God’s intervention can be spectacular, but more often than not, it’s discreet. It’s also worth considering the content of God’s message to Elijah: he renews Elijah’s commission, opens up the perspective of a successor, and reveals to him that he’s not as alone as he’d thought.”

Buicks says that his prayer for us all is …. “that tired as we may be, God may whisper to us, renewing our sense of calling as chaplains, helping us to discern others who can join and perhaps one day replace us in this ministry, and enabling us to realise that the sense of loneliness we may often experience in this ministry doesn’t mean we are in fact alone.”

To find out more about the vital work of the IPCA, check out their website HERE.

“The International Prisons Chaplains’ Association (IPCA) helps Christian Prison Chaplains everywhere to be in touch with each other to be more effective in their ministry. It also aims to support all chaplains regardless of race, gender and religion.”

— IPCA mission statement

Uniting, encouraging and equipping... a global network of prison chaplains

as they share God’s love and restoring justice.

(cover photo courtesy of Annie Spratt at Unsplash)

Save the date! An event coming up next month, all about the Church and social cohesion!

The Free Churches Group is hosting an event, with the Liverpool & District Federal Council, on the important theme of social cohesion. This conference moves our vital work on, in light of the Theos report on The Church and Social Cohesion (you can read the report HERE).

Our forthcoming event is entitled:

Connecting Communities, Serving People

It will be held in Liverpool Town Hall on 30th September: 1.30-3.30 P.M.

Further details on how to register will be available soon, but for now, save the date!