40 Acts: Day 5 - 'Captive'

Act five - Captive  by Rt Rev James Langstaff                                            

Prisoners do wrong, right? Why should they deserve our giving, our attention, our kindness? Prisoners are easy to forget about when it comes to generosity, and we don't seem to mind that much. And yet Jesus flips that notion on the head, with His command to love our neighbours and, more specifically, to love captives. 

Our giving can have huge ramifications here.
Just one area?
In the UK, one child in 15 will experience a parent being imprisoned,
with the implications felt for years after Take a look at The Welcome Directory to find out what you can do to make your church a welcoming and supportive place for people coming out of prison. There's lots of evidence that being part of an intentional community helps people who don't want to offend again. Maybe your church can become part of that welcome and support and build good links with your local prison.

“I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was ill and you looked after me,

I was in prison and you came to visit me.”

                                                              Matthew 25:36 (NIV)

As Bishop to Prisons in England and Wales I have the privilege of visiting jails.
A privilege?  Yes, because it allows me to hear about the amazing work of chaplains who support staff and prisoners in a wide range of ways: I meet staff and hear about some of the rewards and challenges of working in our jails and I meet prisoners on the wings, in the workshops, in the classrooms and in the chapels. Jesus tells us that when we visit those in prison we visit Him.
I am reminded of this when I meet men, women and young people serving a custodial sentence for something they have done. Many want to make different choices in the future.
Prison Hope is helping to create 'porous walls' in prisons so that followers of Jesus who meet inside and outside prisons can make more connections and stronger links with each other.
Most of us will never go inside a prison, but we can all pray for those who live in prison, for their families and for those who work in prisons. We can pray too for those impacted by crime.
Some of us may want to do more than pray – perhaps write to a prisoner, give gifts for prisoners' children at Christmas, or volunteer with organisations working with families of those in prison or with people coming out of prison. A few of us may find that today is the first step towards volunteering in prison – perhaps helping in the Visitors' Centre, with Alpha for Prison or with Prison Fellowship's Sycamore Tree Course.
I am both encouraged and challenged by my visits to people in prison but always reminded that I am visiting Jesus.
Will you join me today praying for those in prison and being open
to ways in which we can be part of Prison Hope?

CHOOSE HOW TO COMPLETE THIS ACT:

GREEN OPTION:
For good reasons, you can't just walk up to a prison with a big bag of doughnuts.
As a quick start today, check out www.prisonhope.org.uk and get clued up on Prison Hope.
Sign up for  weekly 'Pray with Us' prayer emails through 2017..

YELLOW OPTION:
 Connect with a national organisation like Prison Fellowship, and join their Angel Tree project to help prisoners keep in touch with their children. Or, you could make a regular commitment to write to someone in prison through Letter Link. Find out more.


RED OPTION:
Take a look at The Welcome Directory to find out what you can do to make your church a welcoming and supportive place for people coming out of prison. There's lots of evidence that being part of an intentional community helps people who don't want to offend again. Maybe your church can become part of that welcome and support and build good links with your local prison.