Prisons Week - “All are invited” is the theme for 2026.

“Jesus’ love reaches us wherever we are but refuses to leave us as we are.” (N.T. Wright).

Prisons Week falls in the month of October, which this year runs from Prisons Sunday 11th–17th October. It is a time when Christians are encouraged to remember in prayer and reflection all those affected by imprisonment: prisoners and their families, victims of crime, prison chaplains and staff, probation workers, volunteers and all who seek to bring justice, restoration and hope. For many of us, prison can seem like a distant world. We may never have visited a prison or knowingly met someone who is serving a sentence. Yet Scripture calls us to remember those who are behind prison walls: “Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them.” (Hebrews 13:3).

Those words have a particular resonance for us as Methodists because John Wesley took seriously the Christian responsibility to care for people who were marginalised or forgotten by society. Visiting prisoners became an important part of his ministry. He preached to prisoners, offered practical help and sought to bring the hope of the gospel to people whom others might have considered beyond redemption. Wesley's concern extended well beyond preaching. He visited the sick, cared for the poor, supported those in need and challenged attitudes and structures that left vulnerable people without hope. His understanding of Christian discipleship was one in which faith was lived out through practical love. For Wesley, the gospel was not simply something to be heard; it was something to be lived.

That challenge remains relevant today. In Matthew 25:36 Jesus says: “I was in prison and you visited me.” These words invite us to look beyond labels and circumstances and to see the person. Jesus identifies himself with those whom society can easily overlook. When we remember prisoners, support their families, encourage those seeking a new beginning after release, or pray for those working within the prison service, we are responding to Christ's call to love our neighbour. Prisons Week also reminds us that there are many people whose lives are affected by imprisonment. We pray for victims of crime, whose lives may have been profoundly changed. We remember prisoners, holding together accountability for wrongdoing with the Christian belief that people can change. We remember families and children, who can experience the consequences of imprisonment through no fault of their own. And we give thanks for chaplains, prison officers, probation workers and volunteers, whose work can be demanding but whose presence can make an enormous difference.

Caring about prisoners does not mean ignoring the harm caused by crime. Nor does believing in forgiveness mean abandoning justice. The Christian message holds together truth, justice, mercy and the possibility of transformation. Perhaps Prisons Week gives us an opportunity to ask ourselves: Who are the people we find easiest to overlook? Wesley's example reminds us that those on the margins are not peripheral to God's concern. They are precisely the people whom Christ calls us to notice and love. As a church community, may we continue that tradition of practical compassion. During Prisons Week, let us remember those behind prison walls, those waiting outside them and those working within them. Let us pray for justice, healing and reconciliation, and for the possibility of new beginnings. Above all, may we remember Christ's words: “I was in prison and you visited me.”

With every blessing, Rev Rosemary Mutopo