Watch this video: Prisons Week 2023

PSALM 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. (NIV)

When I first became a prison chaplain it was a strange transition into a secure environment, suddenly there were lots of fences, gates, and locked doors all over the place, writes Prison Chaplain, Rev. Calum Crombie. 

Even though I felt called to be there, many times, it felt oppressive and claustrophobic. On once occasion I was locked in a cell by a fellow chaplain and I could only focus on the fact that there was no handle on the inside of the door.

Being locked in felt constraining and overwhelming. If that was my experience as a member of staff, who could go home at the end of the day, how was it for those who had no choice to be there?

Prisons are, at times, dark and oppressive places, but one of our prisoners explained to me that when he felt like it was getting a bit much, he would ... ‘go out on the exercise yard and look up. There are no fences or walls when you look up, there is nothing between you and the clouds in the sky. When I look up, my mind is no longer in prison.’

October 8 to 14 this year is Prisons Week. It's a week the Christian Churches unite to remember and pray for all those affected by crime and imprisonment. This year we are asked to look up and remember that heavens declare the glory of God.

Despite feelings of darkness and oppression there is a lot of goodness and light within our criminal justice system.

Despite the hurt and harm that has been caused to so many people by crime we know that God is not absent from those people and these places. Despite the walls, fences and gates, God is present and God is working to build community, restore harm and lives.

This year, the resources for Prisons Week have been inspired by the Psalms, written by people with their own experience of prison and criminal justice; prisoners, prison leavers, victims of crime, families and communities, those working or volunteering in prisons and the criminal justice system.

We invite you to pray each day this week with them. More information is available on www.prisonsweek.org

Ronnie Semley, October 2023