Liberté is a strong woman with a lifetime’s worth of stories to tell from her time as a Prison Chaplain. Here, she shares how Every Day with Jesus is changing lives in prisons across the UK.
‘So many people out there don’t know what a chaplain is, so I say I work for the church in prison,’ says Liberté, who currently works at Pentonville, a men-only prison in London.
Liberté is from Wales and originally trained as a nurse, and her husband was a church leader. ‘I got into [prison work] kind of accidentally, although nothing is accidental to God,’ she says. That was many years ago, and Pentonville is Liberté’s sixth prison role.
‘I came out that first day, looked up and down, and I just felt the last piece of the jigsaw of life was put in place,’ says Liberté. ‘You’re dealing with frightened, terrified, ‘dis-eased’, anxious individuals for whom the vast majority hide their fears behind their fists. It was where my nursing and life experience had taken me. It was this incredible feeling that I had found my place in life.’
Jesus in the barrel
The men Liberté works with have committed various crimes, including offences of the most serious kind. But Liberté has always been able to see their humanity, and their pain.
‘They’ve told me things they wouldn’t tell anyone else, terrible stories of childhood abuse and so on,’ says Liberté. ‘They know they’ve reached the bottom of the barrel, and I'll tell them Jesus is already there waiting with his arms outstretched.’
- Around 97,700 people are in prison in the UK
- People of ethnic minorities make up 27% of the prison population compared with 18% of the general population
- 31% women and 24% men in prison were taken into care as a child, compared with 2% in the general population
- 60% prisons are classed as ‘crowded’. HMP Durham, for example, was at 170% occupancy in 2024
- More than 300 people died in prison last year, with a third of those deaths self inflicted
- Of those in prison, it’s estimated that 26% have ADHD, over half have experienced traumatic brain injury, and up to 13% may have autism*
See the Prison Reform Trust’s Bromley Briefings report for more.
Calming the storm
‘Peace in prison is in short supply,’ says Liberté. ‘Inner peace, peace of environment - prison is very noisy.’
‘One of my favourite prayers for prisoners is, “Lord, as you calm the storm on the sea, please calm the storm in these hearts and minds.”’
‘Last week, I was walking on the wing, and someone shouted, “Will you pray for me miss?” And I said, “No time like the present”, and I put my hand on his shoulder in front of all the other men and prayed. You’d be amazed how many of them want prayer, and no one is ashamed to pray publicly. Just yesterday, I was told by someone I prayed for: “I feel so much better, I feel more at peace”.’
Every Day with Jesus, in prison
‘Many of the men I work with think they’re worthless,’ says Liberté. ‘So I tell them, “God thinks you’re worth dying for, God thinks you’re fabulous!” And Every Day with Jesus tells them that too; it tells them God loves them.’
In UK prisons, we distribute 24,000 copies of Every Day with Jesus for free each year, resourcing chaplains like Liberté and reaching 97,000 people serving custodial sentences.
‘People in prison respond well to Every Day With Jesus because it’s simple,’ says Liberté. ‘It’s easy to understand.’
‘God is like a surgeon, and the Every Day with Jesus notes are like the scalpel. God uses them.’
‘Christ is redeeming people, and using the likes of us to do it. And I find it so fulfilling, thrilling, and at times heartbreaking… And I always carry these Every Day with Jesus booklets around with me. On the segregation wing, the cell doors have small gaps around the edge, and if I flatten one of these booklets I can slip it through.’
‘You can see the light of Christ walking in the darkness of the prison wings. We are at hell’s gateway here, stealing from the devil - calling people back. I’ve heard men give their lives to Christ using some of the most offensive language you’ve ever heard…but I know that’s God’s problem, not mine!’
‘I could talk forever about my work. I think it’s wonderful and I thank God for it.’
‘I’d just like to say a huge thank you to all the people who give [to Waverley Abbey],’ says Liberté. ‘Your contributions bring people to faith. When you get to heaven, somebody is going to come up to you and say, “Thank you. Thank you very much. Because of you, I am here”.’
The prison system does not resource its chaplains well, so the fact that Every Day with Jesus comes free of charge is crucial. Please donate if you can, to keep Every Day with Jesus freely available for decades to come.
You can find out more about the role of chaplains, here.
* Statistics from UK Parliament 2024 and Prison Reform Trust
PRAY WITH US
Lord,
We thank You for chaplains like Liberté who bring Your light into prisons. We pray for those she serves, that they may find peace and healing through Your love. Bless all who support this ministry, and continue to use Every Day with Jesus to transform lives.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen