I’ve recently joined the North Yorkshire Probation Service. It’s difficult to say fully what the Christian voice would look like in the probation service as I know there’s a lot of reservation and mistrust concerning Christians, probably historical or whatever BUT one thing I have noticed is that if a colleague opens up to talk about a personal crisis and I offer to pray for them, not directly there and then, coz I think that would be too off putting, although that has happened - but more generally if our church will pray for them or I’ll pray for them… I’ve never met a refusal and nearly everyone has said how much it’s meant to them.

 

 

Yeah – the guy was probably on the fringes of church anyway but certainly wouldn’t call himself a believer. 

 

 

This was a colleague – it would be very difficult to pray for an offender in the probation service coz that would be seen as proselytising and pushing your faith but certainly there is a possibility to direct offenders towards faith groups and so if someone has got a hint of a faith it’s certainly in keeping with our jobs to tie them into a resource – which would be the church. 

 

In the workplace a colleague said he had a medical condition and he was really scared about what it might be. I knew he had a kind of link in with the church although not a faith so I volunteered to pray with him there and then in his office and we did. He was very grateful for it and although I did loose touch with him, so I couldn’t say if there was a positive answer, he is still with us. I know he genuinely did have a health concern! So I know that whenever I do see him, he comments back on it and how much he valued it.