The Interview
Helen Dearnley
NOMS (National Offender Management Service Chaplain How long have you been in prison Ministry? My love for Prison Ministry was kindled when I spent 1 day a week volunteering in HMP Holloway in 1998 , I was the Co-ordinating Chaplain of HMP Leicester for 7 years, before leaving that post on the 31st March 2013 inorder to take up my new role as a Chaplaincy HQ Advisor. At its core, a Co-ordinating Chaplain is responsible for ensuring that all prionsers and staff receive the pastoral care that they require and that the faith needs of the prison community are met. The Co-ordinating Chaplain therefore leads a diverse team of Chaplains and volunteers from all the major faith groups. A Chaplaincy HQ advisor is a national post responsible for overseeing prisons regionally and each (there are 6) carry different national portfolio’s. I am responsible for the 29 prisons in the East Midlands and Eastern Region, and I hold the portfolios representing the womens esate and Private providers. How are Prison Chaplains different from other clergy, if they are? Prison Chaplains are as diverse as clergy in all other ministerial roles, though our parishioners are usually easier to find! however our responsibilities are very similar, though it would be reasonable to say that we do less occasional offices, than our community colleagues but are perhaps more regularily involved in pastoral crisis intervention. Why do you want to spend your time with people we might consider ‘beyond redemption’? Aren’t you shocked by the things they’ve done? The role of a Chaplain is not to judge, but to seek the humanity in all and to remember that everyone in prison is someone’s son or daughter, it is not to condone behaviour but to challenge damaged assumptions and to show there is a different way. I am regularly shocked, saddened and even sickened by the depths to which humanity can fall, but I have never lost hope. Are you hoping they will all find Jesus and be saved? I am hoping that prisoners will be able to gain a better understanding of who they are and of God’s love for them, I pray that they will find a hope and a freedom in their faith that transcends the walls and bars .
Do you get frustrated when they come back into prison? Yes! What upsets me most are those who fall through systems in the community and are safer in the prison environment than they would be on the streets, and those who have mental health needs which are not always able to be met in the community. What do you do now you’re not going to Leicester prison everyday? I am usually in HMP Leicester once a week, though office rather than prisoner bound, I spend one day a week in London and the rest of my time is spent visiting the prisons in my areas ensuring that Chaplaincy provision is the best it can be as well as being a resource for Chaplaincies and governors. Do prisons vary? Are they ‘good’ and ‘bad’? What effect does Prison have on people? Prisons vary hugely, arguably no two are the same as each has their own specialisation and categarisation, some prisons work only with Sex offenders, others have no walls or fences and their primary function is to assisit in offenders reintegratating into the community, some like Leicester are local prisons serving the courts, others like Glen Parva take younger men aged 18 to 21, whilst places like Gartree receive only those who are serving life sentances. For the record the nearest Prison that receives women to Leicester is Peterborough. Plus anything else, of course! Working in Prison chaplaincy for the last 7 years has taught me to trust in God’s ability to bring about transformation in the least likely situations, I have seen that journey take years (of course) it is rarely a ‘quick fix’ but I have had the privelege on more than a few ocassions of seeing prisoners turn to Christ and then rebuild their lives and return to society more fully the people they were created to be. It is this possibility that keeps me hopeful and enjoying this ministry week by week. Revd Helen Dearnley
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