Chaplaincy at Ford Prison

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25:40

My concern for the ‘least of these’ goes back a long way. Growing up in a strong, loving and socially active Catholic family gave me an insight into the reality of poverty and social justice / injustice. I remember the work that priests in our Diocese had been doing in Peru (including at a later time my own brother, Fr Kevin Dring). My father was a criminal lawyer and so we grew up immersed in the reality that there were those who have and those who have not, there were victims and offenders. Through my late teens, growing up in Brighton, I become exposed to homelessness and drug and alcohol abuse. I had my own difficulties at this time which, in hindsight, only served to inflame (‘on fire’ rather than ‘swollen’!) my heart for those who, like the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32), get lost and find themselves on their face. Fortunately for me I had parents, who like the Father in the story, were desperate to have me home. Many of us can identify a moment or an event when we could say we really came to know God. My ‘home coming’ at that time was such a moment for me. I came to know God in the tender, unconditionally loving and forgiving embrace of the parent, my parents.

I know that all people, regardless of what they have done, are loved fully by God. I know that all people, regardless of what they have done, are made in the image and likeness of that same God. But I also know that most people who we are likely to cross the street to avoid have not experienced that love or recognised their own ‘sacredness’. Their antisocial, chaotic, abusive, ‘deviant’ behaviour is most often a reaction to having been deeply hurt and deeply deprived of the ‘tender, unconditionally loving and forgiving embrace of the parent’. And it is these people who Jesus commanded us to love as he loves us. (John 15:12) My experience and my ‘inflamed heart’ led me on a journey which has included development work in Ghana, completing a Master’s Degree and qualifying as a Social Worker, opening and managing the Emmaus Community in Brighton, many years of work as a school chaplain, and, for the past four years prison chaplaincy – split between HMP Lewes and HMP Ford. Prison could be described as the epicentre of poverty and social exclusion. Some statistics highlight this: • 57% of prisoners have the literacy skills expected of an 11 year old • 47% have no qualifications • 46% of women and 21% of men in prison have attempted suicide at some point • 70% of prisoners had been drinking when they offended • 6% of women and 38% of men in prison committed their offence to buy drugs • 53% of women and 27% of men in prison experienced abuse as a child • 31% of women and 24% of men in prison were in care as a child and this is before they get to prison…. The 1952 Prison Act stated that 3 people were required to open a prison: a governor, a medical officer and a chaplain. So what does a chaplain do? It might surprise many people to hear that faith or religious activity makes up less than half of the work of a chaplain in prison. As a Roman Catholic chaplain I have a duty to attend to the faith needs of that community (approximately 20% of the population in both prisons where I

work) while sharing in the duty to pastorally attend to the needs of all prisoners and staff. In addition to running weekly faith groups and Mass I share in the daily duty of meeting all prisoners on their first day, all on the hospital wing, all in isolation, all in drug and alcohol detox and all on their day of release. We conduct memorials, provide bereavement support, and help men in their resettlement and in connecting with a place of worship in the community. Jesus shared the parable of the Prodigal Son to reinforce the truth that God the Father is very close to ‘the least of these brothers and sisters’. I experience this closeness on a daily basis through, for example, the testimonies of men who have met Jesus in their cells, the hunger for Baptism, the desire to give to charity, to watch out for the vulnerable prisoner on the wing, the reverence for the Word and daily prayer, and the deep humility, remorse and repentance of so many.

Domiic Dring

I hope that I am able to bring some light and hope into the lives of the prisoners and staff in the prisons in which I work, but I know that, through this work –this walk with the least of my brothers – I come to know, love, and follow my God more closely. Please pray for prisoners, prison chaplains and staff, and the families of those in prison. Commercial break – you too can support the life and work of men at HMP Ford by visiting the

excellent café and farm shop, Serving Thyme, opposite the prison gate, which is run by a team of mean ‘serving time’. Open to the public 7 days a week. Ford Rd, Ford, Arundel BN18 0BX