0:00:04 > 0:00:06Today is Prison Sunday.
0:00:07 > 0:00:11It's the start of a week of prayer and support
0:00:11 > 0:00:13for everyone involved in prison life,
0:00:13 > 0:00:16including prisoners and the victims of their crimes.
0:00:16 > 0:00:19I'm being allowed into a closed prison,
0:00:19 > 0:00:21HMP Wayland, in Norfolk,
0:00:21 > 0:00:24to seek out examples of belief behind bars.
0:00:28 > 0:00:30Tonight, I meet some of those
0:00:30 > 0:00:33who live and work in this prison community,
0:00:33 > 0:00:36and congregations from towns and cities all over the country
0:00:36 > 0:00:38which have a prison as part of their community
0:00:38 > 0:00:40sing hymns of penitence
0:00:40 > 0:00:42and forgiveness.
0:00:53 > 0:00:57'Built in 1985 in the Norfolk countryside,
0:00:57 > 0:01:00'Her Majesty's Prison Wayland is a Category C prison.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03'That's for adult males who aren't likely to try to escape,
0:01:03 > 0:01:05'but can't quite be trusted in an open prison.'
0:01:05 > 0:01:07- Good morning.- How are you?
0:01:07 > 0:01:09Here in Wayland,
0:01:09 > 0:01:13there are around 1,000 inmates who currently fit that description.
0:01:16 > 0:01:18Bob Wilson is a Baptist minister
0:01:18 > 0:01:22and a member of Wayland's multi-faith prison chaplaincy team.
0:01:22 > 0:01:24There's no godless place.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27You know, God is, essentially, everywhere,
0:01:27 > 0:01:29and he's just as much in here as he is
0:01:29 > 0:01:31out through the gates the other side.
0:01:31 > 0:01:35But haven't prisoners failed God in a serious way?
0:01:35 > 0:01:39They've failed humanity in a serious way, they've failed themselves in a serious way,
0:01:39 > 0:01:42they've failed their victims and community in a serious way,
0:01:42 > 0:01:46but I don't think God is surprised at what they did.
0:01:46 > 0:01:48I think God knows all of us.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52Jesus, in Matthew 25, was really, really clear,
0:01:52 > 0:01:56when he said that when you look into the eyes of prisoners, you see me.
0:01:56 > 0:01:58He says that for whatever you did
0:01:58 > 0:02:01for the least of these brothers of mine, you did also for me.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04And so I often think, when I look into the eyes of prisoners,
0:02:04 > 0:02:06I see the eyes of Jesus there.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13The Stations of the Cross here in the prison chapel
0:02:13 > 0:02:16graphically tell the story of how Jesus, an innocent man,
0:02:16 > 0:02:20was executed as a common criminal.
0:02:20 > 0:02:22And yet, with almost his last breath,
0:02:22 > 0:02:24Jesus forgave his murderers
0:02:24 > 0:02:32and showed compassion to a repentant thief.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49Contrary to popular opinion, prison is far from being a holiday camp.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54Very few possessions are allowed outside the basics,
0:05:54 > 0:05:56but prisoners can have access to music
0:05:56 > 0:05:59and to things they might need to practice their faith,
0:05:59 > 0:06:03in what's otherwise a strict and spartan environment.
0:06:03 > 0:06:08But the noise of rattling keys and banging doors is never far away.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11This prison's a really good training prison
0:06:11 > 0:06:14that is working every day with prisoners,
0:06:14 > 0:06:16to try to support effective rehabilitation.
0:06:16 > 0:06:20We have, in the Prison and Probation Service,
0:06:20 > 0:06:23a motto that talks about preventing victims by changing lives.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26And that's absolutely what Wayland's about.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28It works very hard with individual prisoners
0:06:28 > 0:06:31to make them think about why it is that they've been offending,
0:06:31 > 0:06:35to give them skills to help them to change.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37Very many prisoners
0:06:37 > 0:06:39come in with very low levels of numeracy, literacy,
0:06:39 > 0:06:42and we also train them in ICT.
0:06:42 > 0:06:44So, there's a whole range of vocational training
0:06:44 > 0:06:47as well as programs to help them to think through...
0:06:47 > 0:06:49about why they have been offending.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53I really believe God has placed me in the prison.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57In here, we run Level I and Level II plastering
0:06:57 > 0:07:01and Level I and Level II bricklaying and, basically,
0:07:01 > 0:07:03we kit the guys out so they can build a house, really,
0:07:03 > 0:07:04from bottom to top.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10Is it wise giving prisoners tools that they could use for escape?
0:07:10 > 0:07:12They're all checked before we start each session.
0:07:12 > 0:07:14They're all checked after each session.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17There're all locked away safely at the end of the day.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19They're really well-protected.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23I know this sounds silly, but I get that light bulb moment,
0:07:23 > 0:07:25when you see somebody can do something for the first time.
0:07:26 > 0:07:30The guys need to learn, and if we can give them a hope for the future,
0:07:30 > 0:07:33they can find work, they'll be earning and putting back into the community,
0:07:33 > 0:07:35which is what it's all about.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38There's been people go from this prison and helped in the community recently,
0:07:38 > 0:07:40and it's important that we can do that.
0:07:40 > 0:07:41They can't do that without the skills.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46As well as learning new skills,
0:07:46 > 0:07:48prisoners can even earn a little money,
0:07:48 > 0:07:51some of which is paid into a fund for victims.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54So, good behaviour is rewarded.
0:07:54 > 0:07:55If you don't abide by the rules,
0:07:55 > 0:07:58any privileges can - and will - be taken away.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01But compared with prison conditions in centuries gone by,
0:08:01 > 0:08:05the loss of liberty is now regarded as enough of a punishment.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09One person prisoners have to thank for that
0:08:09 > 0:08:12was an 18th-century Quaker, Elizabeth Fry,
0:08:12 > 0:08:15who helped reform the prison system, to make it more humane.
0:08:17 > 0:08:21Our next hymn is by the Quaker poet John Greenleaf Whittier
0:08:21 > 0:08:25and comes from Elizabeth Fry's own meeting house in nearby Norwich.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34David has been in prison for 13 years.
0:10:34 > 0:10:36He won't be released until at least 2014.
0:10:37 > 0:10:39We're here for a reason,
0:10:39 > 0:10:41I'm here for a reason. So...
0:10:43 > 0:10:45..it's not supposed to be nice.
0:10:46 > 0:10:48But it can be very beneficial.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54And I've chosen to make it benefit me.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57I've been on a journey,
0:10:57 > 0:11:01I've done all the education stuff, I've done vocational stuff,
0:11:01 > 0:11:05I've made myself employable, which I probably wasn't when I came away.
0:11:05 > 0:11:09But, for me, it's finding out who I am,
0:11:09 > 0:11:11finding out who I can be.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15Anybody who I've hurt...
0:11:16 > 0:11:17..any victim who I've created...
0:11:19 > 0:11:23..I can only hope that I can prove that I can be given a second chance
0:11:23 > 0:11:26and I can get a second chance with their blessing.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29I suppose you try and blame all sorts of things
0:11:29 > 0:11:31for things that go wrong in your life.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37But...the realisation that...
0:11:37 > 0:11:40you are in control of everything you do,
0:11:40 > 0:11:43you have a choice to make, you have decisions to make,
0:11:43 > 0:11:46and you make the wrong choice, you make a wrong decision,
0:11:46 > 0:11:49you've got to take responsibility for that.
0:11:50 > 0:11:54It can get very lonely at times and you can feel very alone.
0:11:54 > 0:11:58Although you do build up a rapport with people in prison,
0:11:58 > 0:12:02whether that be staff or...other inmates,
0:12:02 > 0:12:06I can only take it to a certain point.
0:12:07 > 0:12:11And that's very difficult, because I am a very...
0:12:11 > 0:12:14I suppose I'm an emotional person, and I do miss my family
0:12:14 > 0:12:17and...that separation is very hard to deal with.
0:15:29 > 0:15:35Help us to forgive one another, to act justly, love, have mercy
0:15:35 > 0:15:40and walk humbly together with Christ in His strength
0:15:40 > 0:15:42and in His spirit, now and every day.
0:15:42 > 0:15:44The chaplaincy, they do more
0:15:44 > 0:15:46than just the traditional religious support.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50Sometimes people are not necessarily religious, but when there
0:15:50 > 0:15:54are sad times or deaths in families and such like,
0:15:54 > 0:15:56the chaplaincy is someone that they can turn to.
0:15:56 > 0:15:59But it's also someone staff can turn to.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02You have to have compassion in this environment.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05Some people are very distressed. It's a very human place to be.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08You see all range of human emotions on display.
0:16:08 > 0:16:12So compassion's important. It's essential for any prison officer.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15My philosophy has always been, they've been judged,
0:16:15 > 0:16:18my job isn't to judge them, they've been judged.
0:16:18 > 0:16:23My job is to look after them...the best way I can in here.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26I've been in some situations where you think, wow,
0:16:26 > 0:16:30this could turn really nasty, but the staff here are fantastic.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33You do get some good support and you've got back-up all the time.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37Sounds trite in lots of ways, but God is everywhere.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40And yes, very definitely with prisoners and staff.
0:16:40 > 0:16:45To me it's the sort of basis of what I do.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47The hymn And Can It Be is my favourite hymn.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51It might be seen as a risky one for the Head of the Prison Service,
0:16:51 > 0:16:54because the fourth verse is about a prison escape.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57It's about Peter escaping from prison in Jerusalem,
0:16:57 > 0:16:59when the angel comes and his handcuffs fall off
0:16:59 > 0:17:01and he gets out past the guards and amazes his friends.
0:17:01 > 0:17:06And everyone can know that freedom and release through God's love.
0:17:06 > 0:17:10And in prison, that freedom might well be a spiritual freedom,
0:17:10 > 0:17:13rather than a physical freedom, but it's life-changing nonetheless.
0:20:33 > 0:20:37Visiting those in prison is an act of mercy which Jesus said
0:20:37 > 0:20:39was akin to doing the same for him.
0:20:39 > 0:20:43The Wesley brothers were prison visitors in the most dangerous circumstances.
0:20:43 > 0:20:47Prisoners still rely heavily on volunteers to visit them.
0:20:47 > 0:20:51Very often, there's quite a lot of interest in matters of faith.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54Some of them say that when they're on the outside,
0:20:54 > 0:20:57they had very little opportunity to think.
0:20:57 > 0:21:02So busy making life for themselves, making money illegally or legally.
0:21:02 > 0:21:06When they come here they've got more time than they want to think.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09And for those who've been in and out for some time,
0:21:09 > 0:21:11they're looking for a new way of life.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14Certainly those who come to the chapel are looking for something
0:21:14 > 0:21:18and I think we have something important to give to them in our own Christian faith.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21I see them as human beings.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24All of us are ragged, for want of a better word,
0:21:24 > 0:21:29and certainly my belief in the eyes of God is that we're all ragged.
0:21:29 > 0:21:33It's just that I've been fortunate that the things I've done wrong
0:21:33 > 0:21:36haven't ended me up in an institution such as this.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39But there are so many untapped gifts in the guys that are in here,
0:21:39 > 0:21:43it's staggering. It staggers me regularly.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46I tutor something called the Sycamore Tree course,
0:21:46 > 0:21:49or the guys call it a victim awareness course.
0:21:49 > 0:21:53And it looks at an alternative justice system
0:21:53 > 0:21:58and looks to restore the guys into the community when they're released.
0:21:58 > 0:22:00It actually gets them
0:22:00 > 0:22:04to thing about the effect of their crime on their victim.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07And part of the course, on the last session,
0:22:07 > 0:22:10the guys carry out something called a symbolic act of restitution,
0:22:10 > 0:22:14which involves... It can be a letter writing.
0:22:14 > 0:22:18I've had guys sing songs, write poetry, do pictures and so on.
0:22:18 > 0:22:22When we see guys being released and we hear that they've settled,
0:22:22 > 0:22:26they've made a home, they've made a life for themselves,
0:22:26 > 0:22:28what more reward could you possibly want?
0:24:32 > 0:24:36The pure and contrite heart in Charles Wesley's hymn
0:24:36 > 0:24:38is based on Psalm 51.
0:24:38 > 0:24:42David the King and Psalmist was also an adulterer and murderer,
0:24:42 > 0:24:44until he repented.
0:24:46 > 0:24:50I'm not sure if you can have true forgiveness without there being
0:24:50 > 0:24:54a sense of remorse in the person who is being forgiven.
0:24:54 > 0:24:59There's a huge misunderstanding about forgiveness, I think.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02Forgiveness is not about letting people off.
0:25:02 > 0:25:04Crime is about hurting people
0:25:04 > 0:25:06and when you see that crime is about hurting people
0:25:06 > 0:25:08you have got to understand
0:25:08 > 0:25:11that there has got to be an element of punishment
0:25:11 > 0:25:15and there has also got to be an element of how does that person
0:25:15 > 0:25:19change so that they don't hurt someone else again?
0:25:19 > 0:25:21So, there should be, especially for the Christian,
0:25:21 > 0:25:23no Get Out Of Jail Free card.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26They can understand God's forgiveness but they've also got to understand
0:25:26 > 0:25:29that they've got to change and move forward from that place.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35David's serving a life sentence for his part in a murder.
0:25:36 > 0:25:37The chaplaincy are helping him
0:25:37 > 0:25:42explore ways of expressing remorse to all those affected by his crime.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45Some might say, "If you are a Christian in the first place
0:25:45 > 0:25:48"then why would you commit a crime?"
0:25:48 > 0:25:49The times I was doing things
0:25:49 > 0:25:52I shouldn't have been doing and all the stuff
0:25:52 > 0:25:54I shouldn't have been doing as a Christian,
0:25:54 > 0:25:58I was still learning, you know? I had a lot to learn.
0:25:58 > 0:26:04As much as I felt I knew the lot or knew everything, I didn't.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06I made mistakes. A lot of mistakes.
0:26:06 > 0:26:11I have learnt from a lot of the mistakes I've made.
0:26:11 > 0:26:16'I've always looked to God and asked for forgiveness for things I've done.
0:26:17 > 0:26:19'It came to a point where,
0:26:19 > 0:26:21'when I can't keep doing things wrong
0:26:21 > 0:26:24'and asking for forgiveness, it's time to do things right
0:26:24 > 0:26:26'and being inside this time
0:26:26 > 0:26:31'has afforded me the time and space to really get to grips with that.'
0:26:31 > 0:26:36I'm not just going to turn to God and ask, "Can you forgive me?"
0:26:36 > 0:26:42I'm going to kind of prove that I should be forgiven
0:26:42 > 0:26:47and try and make up for anything I've done wrong.
0:26:47 > 0:26:52'I'd like to help people not to make mistakes,
0:26:52 > 0:26:56'definitely not the mistakes I've made,
0:26:56 > 0:26:59'but to break the cycle before it's too late,
0:26:59 > 0:27:03'before they have to go through an experience what I've gone through.'
0:27:05 > 0:27:08The words of our next hymn writer, John Newton,
0:27:08 > 0:27:11emphasise that even for him, a former slave trader,
0:27:11 > 0:27:13it was never too late to seek forgiveness.
0:30:35 > 0:30:37Lord, you offer freedom to all people.
0:30:37 > 0:30:39We pray for those in prison,
0:30:39 > 0:30:42break the bonds of fear and isolation that exist.
0:30:44 > 0:30:48Support with your love prisoners and their families and friends,
0:30:48 > 0:30:49prison staff and all who care.
0:30:50 > 0:30:54Heal those who have been wounded by the actions of others
0:30:54 > 0:30:56especially the victims of crime.
0:30:56 > 0:31:01Help us to forgive one another, to act justly, to love mercy
0:31:01 > 0:31:03and to walk humbly together with Christ
0:31:03 > 0:31:06in his strength and in his spirit.
0:31:06 > 0:31:11And may God bless you now and every day.
0:31:11 > 0:31:13- Amen.- Amen.
0:31:20 > 0:31:22For our final hymn, we join the congregation
0:31:22 > 0:31:25at St Anne's Roman Catholic Cathedral in Leeds
0:31:25 > 0:31:27to sing with confidence
0:31:27 > 0:31:31that we are all ransomed, healed, restored and forgiven.
0:33:30 > 0:33:33Next week, Sally meets composer Paul Mealor
0:33:33 > 0:33:37who wrote last year's Christmas hit for the Military Wives Choir
0:33:37 > 0:33:40and introduces hymns and songs from Dunblane Cathedral
0:33:40 > 0:33:42with an all-male line-up -
0:33:42 > 0:33:46the boys and young men of the National Youth Choirs of Scotland.
0:33:49 > 0:33:53Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd