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Lindholme
Prison is a category C institution holding around 650 inmates, many
of whom are approaching the end of a life sentence.
Marshgate
Prison in Doncaster holds 1100 Category A prisoners, many on remand.
Neither location might be the sort of place commonly associated
with the pursuit of religion.
But
both institutions provide spiritual support for the men incarcerated
there, whatever their faith, if indeed they have religious beliefs.
Within
24 hours of reception in prison, each prisoner will be visited by
a chaplain.
But
as HMP Lindholme's Chaplain Julian McCready explains, their role
extends far beyond their statutory duty.
"I
like them to come because I'm interested not necessarily in their
faith, but in their humanity
"I'm
not looking for conversions, I'm not looking to proselytise, but
I'm looking to support whoever comes through the door."
Filling
the void
The
prisoners who do choose to walk through the door, do so for many
reasons and can find many routes to spirituality.
At
Lindholme alone there are a team of 15 chaplains ranging from Roman
Catholic to Muslim, Sikh and Buddhist.
"It
can be an extremely negative environment," said Dave, a prisoner
at Lindholme.
For
him the Christian faith offers a way to deal with feelings of worthlessness.
At
Marshgate, Mark tells a story of going off the rails as a teenager
in an area of high unemployment.
The
faith he found at the age of nineteen - already serving his third
sentence - marks a more analytical and focussed stage of his life.
"This
time I decided that enough is enough, time to grow up and make a
real stand," he said "I'm hoping to have a good career
in the ministry somewhere."
For
others worship offers a way to cope with the immediate reality of
incarceration.
"Only
a few weeks ago I was at my wits' end, I didn't think God was with
me. And I shouted 'God where are you?' and I prayed," said
Marshgate prisoner Terry.
He
finds God through music and since exploring his spirituality he
has started to write poetry.
Do
the 'bad' really believe?
Catholic
Chaplain Father Bernard is philosophical about suggestions that
prisoners may attend religious services to 'earn brownie points'.
He
feels he is working among some very real, honest people.
"That
must sound strage for a prison," said Father Bernard "but
I find that prisoners will be very open and honest with you. If
they don't like you they will say so."
Muslim
Chaplain Mohammed Athar does not see any conflict between his faith
and ministering to criminals.
"As
long as the person has learnt from his mistakes, I think we're on
the right lines."
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