Liberté Harries is prison chaplain at HMP Manchester, (formally known as Strangeways), a Category A male high security prison. Here she shares the realities of life inside and explains why SGM Lifewords’ Inspire resources are an important tool in her ministry.
“There are no door handles in prison: it’s all keys. At every level the men I come into contact with do not have freedom. The reality of freedom is that we can do what we like, but we cannot choose the consequences of our actions. Many here are now all too aware of that. As chaplains we’re not here to judge – the courts have already done that – and of course, it’s not biblical to throw the first stone. My responsibility as a chaplain is to stand for God and truth in a dark and hostile environment.
Some people outside of prison say, “How can you work with these people!” I was told once that “the Bible says we shouldn’t speak to perverts”! How wrong we can be about God’s redeeming love, working in the lives of broken people to make them new creations. The fact that people are in prison, therefore their ‘taste’ in sin is illegal – and yours and mine isn’t – is, I’m sure, a totally irrelevant factor to God. I think chaplaincy ends up being the most realistic department of the prison service because we have a theological understanding of sin.
Meeting
I’ve been a part-time chaplain since 1997, and I retired from my other work, as a nurse, last year. A lot of the staff have no faith themselves however most acknowledge that the chaplains perform a crucial role. We act as bridges, between prisoners and staff, and between prisoners and the outside world. Imagine what it’s like for a former drug addict to return to a world where his mum and all his friends take drugs. Helping to link new believers with a community outside where they can get support and understanding is part of the bridging.
Our remit as chaplains is to meet and access the new arrivals (called “receptions”) and to see all the men receiving “health care” and those in the segregation unit. In those first meetings I let the men know that, “You don’t need any faith or belief to talk to a chaplain and we’re great at de-stressing”. Other times, when they tell me “I don’t believe” I’m able to establish a relationship by saying, “Oh it’s alright. I do.” For some it might be meaningful to let them know, “You may not believe in God but God believes in you.”
Accepting
When they come into prison some men hit rock bottom, their lives are shattered in pieces and they give God a chance. I can’t remember who said it, but man’s extremity is God’s opportunity. When I was training, a woman in Holloway once said to me, “When you’re out there you forget about God but when you’re in places like this, you need him.”
We use SGM Lifewords resources in three Nigerian languages, in Somali, Russian, Portuguese and German as well as English. I use Picking up the Pieces when people’s lives are on the floor around their feet. The reality is you don’t get much further down in life than when you come into prison. It never fails to thrill me, to see the radiance of Christ lighting up the dark corners of wings and cells of prison by lighting up men’s hearts. At times working in prison can be like walking through an orchard in autumn. The apples just drop into God’s hands! We, as Chaplaincy teams, simply have to catch them as they fall, because they are ready for God. Sometimes, they just need a little tweak and they are in God’s hands. However, if they need yanking then they are not ready for God and we leave well alone to allow God, through the Holy Spirit, to soften the hardened ground of their hearts. In my experience God can and does change a person, from inside out, not outside in.
As relationship builds I’ll encourage prisoners into church, letting them know that asking questions about faith is a journey, and they can leave belief ten miles down the road if they need to – because that’s God’s problem not theirs. I’ve used Suppose, which tells the story of the prodigal son in a modern context, as part of the Sunday service in the prison chapel at HMP Manchester. I gave each man his own copy and we went through page by page, expanding and personalising.
Little Book of Help and Daily Strength are both useful follow up once people have begun exploring. Almost half the people I work with have problems with literacy levels, so I value the resources which are very clear too. Sometimes I use the SGM Lifewords’ children’s material because of the simple vocabulary.
Mourning
Depression and self-harm are huge problems. We see men who cut themselves, and try to harm themselves in other ways.Those who really do want to die are, fortunately, rare. Usually it’s a cry from a place of helplessness and hopelessness. In talking with people in this place I’ll often introduce Walking in the Desert, which I find is very good for them to take away into private contemplation.
At a seminar last year I learnt that nearly 90% of inmates have mental health problems or personality disorders. It’s a dreadful statistic. They are sometimes not able to get the treatment they need. On the wings they’re not looked after by trained psychiatric personnel but by prison officers. As a nurse I appreciate that they do an excellent job under trying circumstances. There are over 1,250 people in prison and only a handful of trained personnel, a dozen at the very most.
As chaplains we often have to break news of bereavements to prisoners, who, because of the nature of prison, are then left to grieve alone. We can get into that gap, and offer a human and a spiritual connection, whether that’s by listening or by starting a conversation. Often the anniversary of deaths is just as hard for prisoners and I find Living with Loss is so helpful. I can enlarge on all its themes: anger, numbness, guilt and regret. So many men feel guilty about being in prison when a loved one died. The colours in Living With Loss are fabulous, and it gets a reaction every time. The men here live in a grey world and even something as simple as colour has an effect on them. I would describe this resource as “rich velvet”. Last week I had two men down to chapel because of the anniversary of a mutual friend’s death. Both have started reading their Bibles and coming to church and both have asked if they can keep their copy of Living with Loss.
Praying
Sometimes I feel very strongly I should pray for a person, and in revealing myself to them in this way enable them to open up. I’m a firm believer in human touch. Jesus touched everybody. On occasions when I’ve done this, it’s been a moment of change. For one inmate I remember he began talking about how he’d ruined the lives of people who mattered to him. It was the beginning of a four month journey to baptism. When he shared his testimony he said, “Liberté prayed for me. I fell to my knees and I just felt the badness flow out and the goodness flow in.” He went on to attend wing Bible groups and chapel and ran a little Bible study in his cell.
The thrill of seeing God work the miracle of someone taking that first step in the Christian life never ceases to amaze me. I remember a young man who was a teacher and who had killed someone when he was high on drink and drugs. He came to the Lord and once told me, “I’ve got 20 years for murder but in here (pointing to his head) and in here (pointing to his heart) I’m free, because Jesus Christ has saved me.”
Receiving
CT Studd famously wrote, “Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell, but I want a Gospel shop within a yard of hell.” Most prison chaplaincy work is done where love is given away within a yard of hell – and it’s organisations like SGM Lifewords that help and give us strength. Yes, I’m at the sharp end but have you noticed how the engine of a boat is always at the other end? We are all links in a chain and the chain is only as strong as its weakest link. If it weren’t for these Inspire resources, and the prayers and giving of supporters which enable them, I wouldn’t be able to do what I do.”
[...] of you will have read the feature on prison chaplaincy in the latest issue of Interact, which profiled the work of Liberté Harries in HMP Manchester. Her [...]