Ms Gloria Koh, 39, has been volunteering with the RCPM for three years. She joined the ministry after visiting prisons in New Zealand during her stint with the ICPE School of Mission – a five-month international programme that trains young Catholics to be effective evangelisers. She said she was inspired by a passage from Isaiah 61:1, “The spirit of the Lord God is upon me…To proclaim liberty to the captives, release to the prisoners”.
The parishioner of the Church of the Holy Trinity explained that “those in prison are often overlooked because many feel these people are paying the price for their choices and actions.”
“However, all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God,” she said.
Steve, 47, who has been volunteering for 10 years shared that he joined the ministry after reading a recruitment notice in his parish bulletin. “As I contributed to the discussion topics, I found out what the inmates are interested in, and what the teachings of the Church are with regard to their concerns,” he said.
Learning journey
Reflecting on their journey, both volunteers shared that the experience has fuelled their own personal and spiritual growth. Steve, in particular, realised that he knew little about the Church and Her teachings.
“If our brothers in prison rely on us to grow in understanding and knowledge, I have to get my own understanding and knowledge right,” said the Church of St Francis of Assisi parishioner. “I should not go to a session unprepared and just make something up, based on my own understanding.”
Ms Koh, after finding out that only plain sheets of paper with printed text could be brought into the prisons, realised that this ministry required a “great deal of creativity”.
“I realised that the best way to share about Jesus is by showing how much we care for others, how much joy we have, and how much Jesus has changed our lives,” she said. “Only then will we be credible witnesses.”
Misconceptions
She went on to share that “the common misconception about inmates is that they have wilfully chosen to commit crimes, or that they tend to be violent and need to be avoided.”
“However, if we take the time and effort to get to know them and understand their circumstances, we can stretch our ‘empathy muscles’ to view the world through their lens,” she said. “They are people who are very lovable, much like you and I.”
Adding to Ms Koh’s sharing, Steve explained, “Just because a person is done with his prison sentence does not mean he is done with his conversion. He still has a long way to go – like all of us – and is bound to make mistakes along the way.”
“I realise that the prisoners attend our sessions for a reason – they want to know about God, find answers to some gnawing questions, or to seek reparation in some way,” he said. “For some of them, there seems to be a restlessness in them in their search for God during incarceration.”
Encouragement
Acknowledging the need to support the inmates, Steve encourages willing individuals to “join the RCPM, immerse themselves in their setting, “meet-the-people”, and by doing so, remove biases and misconceptions, develop empathy and understanding, before deciding how to help them.”
Participating in the Yellow Ribbon Project – a community effort to rehabilitate and reintegrate ex-offenders into society – is another way of supporting the inmates, said Ms Koh.
“Very often, we judge them with contempt, but if we see them through the eyes of our own sinfulness and that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ, then there really shouldn’t be any judgement,” she added.
