Alpha at Wormwood Scrubs Prison

For the past 5 years I have been helping to run Alpha courses in Wormwood Scrubs Prison (East Acton) through Prison Fellowship.  We normally run two courses a year on Saturdays with a team of 12-15 people from several churches.  Not surprisingly, it’s rather different from an Alpha course on the ‘outside’!   We can’t offer a meal, although we do provide tea, coffee and biscuits after the talk and before the small groups.  We always have a speaker rather than a video/DVD and sometimes one of the men gives the talk.  A high proportion of our Alpha guests are from overseas – the West Indies and Africa in particular – and the worship times are often really amazing!  Of course there is no Holy Spirit weekend away… but we do go in for a whole day to do all three Holy Spirit sessions with a time of ministry and prayer, plus a delicious prison lunch into the bargain!

It’s such a privilege and encouragement to spend time with these guys, seeing them grow in their love and knowledge of God and sharing their faith with other inmates.  They do have the advantage of plenty of time to pray and read their Bibles, which means that many of them have a much better knowledge of scripture than I do.  What’s really touching is that they are so appreciative of us (the Alpha team) and the time that we give up to spend with them in prison.

Alpha is just one of the various activities organised by Prison Fellowship England & Wales – a Christian ministry to prisons which seeks, through prayer and practical care, to support prisoners, prisoners’ families, ex-offenders and chaplaincy teams using volunteers from local churches.  Other initiatives include “Angel Tree” – where Christmas presents are bought, wrapped and posted to prisoners’ children with a handwritten note from the father; and “Sycamore Tree” – a restorative justice course that challenges offenders to think about how their crimes have affected their victims and the wider community.   Prayer is at the forefront of this ministry and I attend a monthly prayer meeting.

If you would like to know more or find out how to get involved in Alpha at the prison, please contact Patricia at: enquiries@blesscc.org