A light which shines in the darkness

The custodial sentences imposed on many of those involved in the recent riots in communities across our country have highlighted, yet again, the issue of criminal justice and the pressures and strains within the prison system. The seemingly ever-increasing size of the prison population; the appalling conditions within many of our older prisons, especially those in our inner cities; the almost total lack of provision for education and rehabilitation and an apparent unwillingness by those elected to Parliament to consider whether the whole of our justice system needs a radical overhaul have all resulted in much media comment.

But one part of the prison system which has not been mentioned is the invaluable role played by those who serve as Chaplains. Prison and restorative justice have been a constant thread almost throughout the whole of my life beginning with my first visit while still in my teens to what was then called a Borstal.

Since then, I’ve had the privilege of working with chaplaincy teams across the whole of the prison estate. I’ve witnessed at first hand the extraordinary work done those teams, lay and ordained, of all faiths, working together to witness to God’s love in Christ and caring for all those in the prison system, both staff and prisoners. I’ve often said to those on the outside, if you want to know what true collaborative ministry looks like in practice, look no further than a chaplaincy team. While each member remains true to his or her particular faith, the barriers which often divide people of faith have no part in that shared work of witness and service.

Sadly, all too often, the work of Chaplaincies not just in prison but in all aspects of our human life, in education, hospital, mental health, care homes and many other places, is barely known – that is, until we need their care. But Chaplaincies are the yeast which leaven our society. The light which shines in the darkness. Society, as we long and pray for it to be, would be the poorer without them.

Bishop Trevor Willmott
Assistant Bishop for the Diocese of Bath and Wells