London Prisons Mission
London Prisons Mission (LPM) was originally an initiative of Churches Together in Westminster, a group of around 80 churches of all denominations in central London. LPM is now independent but its aims are unchanged: to support and assist multi-faith Prison Chaplaincy teams; to enable volunteers to work with a vulnerable and often neglected section of society; and to inform congregations of churches about prisoners, their families, prison staff, victims of crime and issues concerning the criminal justice system.
Our name implies London exclusivity but in fact the churches that have always taken the most active roles within LPM, while central London based, draw their congregations from outside London as well and the prisons with which we work currently, HMP & YOI Bronzefield, HMP Wandsworth and HMP Wormwood Scrubs, as well as the Immigration detention Centre at Heathrow, all serve catchment areas extending beyond Greater London.
Supporting Prison Chaplains
Prison Chaplains lead extensive teams of full and part-time chaplains of all denominations and have pastoral care for very large numbers of inmates (for example HMP Wandsworth houses around 1,600 men). Prison Chaplaincies have responsibility for numerous , diverse secular and non-secular activities with which we are able to help. We have also hosted away days for entire chaplaincy teams to meet off site to deliberate on current issues.
Enabling Volunteers
Volunteers undertake a wide range of work identified and needed by the Managing Chaplain inside prisons, according to their skills and experience. Activities include supporting teams responding to inmates at risk; conducting restorative justice programmes; mentoring inmates during crucial pre and post discharge weeks; assisting with literacy and numeracy teaching; and communicating with family and friends via pen pal letters or the reading and taping of stories for children.
Informing Congregations
Volunteers are able to report back on their work in their own churches, helping their church leaders to devise interesting services on the subject of prison and penal policies for their congregations. On a larger scale we engage with the wider church community through newsletters and other written materials and have hosted shows of artworks by prisoners in many of our founding member churches.