As a church, for over 15 years now, we've had a team going into Coldingley Men's Prison. Coldingley is a men's "category C training and resettlement prison", holding mostly long-term prisoners, including some with life sentences.
The team, led by Neil Willis, hold Sunday morning services in the prison several times a year. This ministry is one of our 'Welcome Works' (the various social action ministries we do to serve people in need, both within and beyond our own church family).
As Jesus said in Matthew 25v36, "I was in prison and you came to visit me"
Another World
Neil says: "Coldingley Prison is like another world just up the road in Bisley, requiring rigorous security to get in (and out!) We go through an 'airlock' and multiple locked gates before we arrive in the chapel with its decorative bars at the windows. Usually around 30 prisoners attend, and often a couple of them will join the band that we take in ourselves, playing on the violin and guitar. We praise God with what sounds a bit like a Welsh male voice choir of baritones and basses, and we always feel the presence of the Holy Spirit in that place; it's very special!
"As a church we've been going in for over 15 years, and sadly some of the regular attendees have been coming to our services all of that time; it's hard to imagine what it must be like to be in there for so long. We do not discuss people's offences, and do not judge in any way. Many are there because of a combination of appalling circumstances, and let's be reminded that many of the Apostles knew what it was like to be imprisoned.
"Recently we've felt challenged to better serve the residents, to build on relationships, and to see more of God at work in the prison. We are having more requests for prayer after the service, and the men are really opening up to us in different ways. I recently prayed with a guy who was wracked with guilt at having let his mother down. Another very young man had just arrived too, and was obviously struggling, but he agreed to attend the Alpha Course that they run.
"The 30 or so men that come to the chapel each Sunday are God's church in that place of over 500 men, and we try to encourage them to be a light to the others, which is no mean task as you might imagine. The prison Chaplin and his team seem to love it when we come in and we're now talking about increasing our visit frequency to 8 or more times a year.
Running the prison services is both a privilege and a great opportunity, and it also blesses us as a team, although there's always a sense of relief when we get out into the fresh air again - we appreciate our freedom that little bit more. It's great to be doing God's work in such a place, and it is very real!"
Why not get involved?
Beyond the Sunday Prison Services, there are several other aspects to what we do with our prisons work, and you can read about that on our Welcome Works web page by clicking here. If you want to get involved in these, or any of our other Welcome Works, do please let us know. You can do that by dropping us an email our by speaking to Neil or to Dub or to any of us in the offices. And, if it's not for you, please pray for the work that's going on, and please encourage the teams that go in.
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