Annual Prison Ministry Conference

Last Friday we held our Prison Ministry Conference at Holy Trinity Brompton, and this year it was particularly inspirational.

     We had speakers from government and Christian ministry, hosted sixteen organisations demonstrating their services for ex-offenders and held seminars to better equip those involved or interested in helping support those in the criminal justice system.

     We also heard moving testimony from a victim of crime on the power of the Restorative Justice programme Sycamore Tree. Regional networking lunches helped focus delegates on action planning and working together to help support ex-offenders in their respective localities.

      Prince Michael of Kent opened the Conference by expressing his support for the work of Caring for Ex-Offenders and mentioned his visit to HMP Wandsworth as sparking his interest in this ministry. Crispin Blunt MP spoke about the shift in government towards greater utilisation of voluntary and faith-based organisations and Ian Poree, head of Service Development for NOMS, said that we were 'holding the hope' in this field. Christian Guy from the Centre for Social Justice delivered a message from Philippa Stroud, Special Adviser to Iain Duncan Smith, praising the work done by churches in the area of poverty fighting and rehabilitation of ex-offenders, especially that of Caring for Ex-Offenders.

      We also hosted seminars on Alpha for Prisons, Caring for Ex-Offenders which had a huge turn out, youth justice, working with the police, Prison Fellowship, and mental health. These were a great success, generating discussion and acting as a wonderful forum for the experienced and those just testing the water to meet and learn from one another.
Our stallholders communicated lots of information about the resources available for those assisting ex-offenders in getting back into work, finding accommodation and dealing with addictions, among many others. They were inundated with interest!

      We also hosted interviews with Mark Jones, of Foodbank, and the people leading Alpha in Pentonville prison who discussed the pastorate they are leading there. This was a brilliant insight into practitioners' experience, and therefore was a great encouragement to others who are involved on the ground level of this work.
We were overwhelmed with the passion of the people attending the conference, and it was a fantastic chance to share vision and practical ideas for how to work better to benefit those in prison and those struggling to overcome the effects of imprisonment.

      Next year's conference will be held on 11/11/2011. More information will appear on www.caringforexoffenders.org nearer the time.