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.
Day by Day is a long running and popular pastoral title, with verses for each day of the week. It’s been a favourite with chaplains for a long time, as a simple leaflet that can be left for those going through a hard time.
