"EXCUSE ME mate! Don't stand on the carpet with your shoes on!" Such was the greeting I got from a bunch of roguishly grinning lads in the mosque at HM Young Offenders Institution in Aylesbury.
I had been invited by the Imam to talk to the young men, now watching me intently as I stood in their place of worship and told the story of how I turned to faith in Jesus Christ while serving a prison sentence of my own. Despite a few testy remarks the lads listened eagerly to my story and there were plenty of genuine questions asked at the end.
On another occasion the chaplain, Reverend J. Williams, invited us to lead an advent service which was a great time of worship, drama and testimonies. She commented: "As the Anglican Chaplain in a Young Offenders Institution I feel like sticking my head out through the bars which surround our prison to shout:
'Is anybody out there?'
"How can we prevent future victims if we do not offer the gospel of love and forgiveness to those we have in prison? How can we help them love themselves and love others if we do not tell them that God loves them unreservedly and will help them change their lives for the better?
"When Jesus asks us: 'Did you visit Me in prison?' we can't reply like Catherine Tait 'Does my face look bovvered?' Like Mary our response is: 'I am the Lord's servant. May it be to me as You have said.' Thank You, God, I say, for Open Doors and the Prisoner Release Scheme who not only visit the prisoners in prison but also support them when they leave."
Another time, another prison chapel, locked away in the heart of a high-security jail in Kent. For six months I had been meeting a friend, who is a "lifer", to pray and share in Holy Communion.
Normally a long-term prisoner will have to serve a long time in category C (this prison category applies to prisoners who cannot be trusted in open conditions) before moving to an open prison - but this inmate was asking God for something supernatural to happen.
As we prayed, a shaft of light shone through the high, barred windows and fell across the table where we sat.
"I think God has heard my prayer," I said. The lad looked up and smiled from under his baseball cap. The peace in the room was tangible. I received a letter from him on New Year's Eve - he got reclassified to D category, and is waiting to be moved to an open prison.
Prison doors are solid and unyielding. But behind them are those who are longing for an end to their constant failure, often desperate for a chance to try again. We want to keep meeting prisoners, pushing the doors of their lives, one by one - in the hope that some will open, bringing inner freedom and new life in Jesus.
Have your say! Leave your comments and join in the discussion on this article on the Jesus Army Forum.
