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By Narayan Mitra
AS A provincial medium security facility bursts with
inmates, demand for chaplaincy services grows correspondingly.
The two full-time evangelical chaplains, Clint Heigh
and Bruce Stratton, have been ‘standing in the gap’ at Kamloops
Regional Correctional Centre (KRCC).
The pair have been reaching out to the lonely and, at
times, nervous population behind KRCC’s thick walls – with the
message of God’s love, forgiveness and healing.
Heigh, a 20-year veteran of Christian ministries, is
ordained with the Evangelical Free Church. Pastoral roles at Kamloops and
Merritt have equipped him for his current ministry.
Even as a local church pastor, Heigh had delivered the
same message part-time to a minimum security facility near Kamloops. That
taste of prison ministry is now standing him in good stead.
“We have been extremely busy, with four Sunday
chapel services – and ‘padre times,’ the informal
interactions with one-on-one and small group of inmates,” he told BCCN.
“A few individuals want to meet regularly. In the
newly conceived pre-release programs we discuss issues they would face
following their release. If they fail to prepare, they are looking at
preparing to fail.”
With a total capacity of some 260, KRCC is providing
more services than any other similar institution in the province –
not only to inmates, but to the staff as well. Heigh delights in the
excellent cooperation the chaplains receive from the prison administration.
Like Heigh, Stratton, 55, has gone through full-time
pastoral ministry – in Newfoundland, Alberta and B.C., credentialed
by the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. Starting as a volunteer, he moved
up to auxiliary chaplain – and then into his present role, in
November 2007.
Stratton considers his chaplain work – which he
describes as “pastoral work minus the burden of administration”
– a privileged ‘salt-and-light’ witness to people who
have failed in some areas of life.
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“It’s not a whole lot different than the
folks outside. Not one of us is reflecting the image of God. Of course,
it’s harder to see the reflection of God in the incarcerated.
“Basically we try not to look at them as
‘evil’ inmates, but pray to minister to them as God’s
creation. God sees everyone differently. People in society have far more
issues to deal with; they just have not faced the justice
system.”
What of the results? Stratton addresses the subject
with realism – albeit philosophically.
“Not a whole lot of reward perhaps. We have to
measure it in millimetres, not metres. Perhaps the reward is a ‘Thank
you,’ after meeting a freed person on the street years later.
“It’s difficult to measure the effects of
our work. Life consists of hundreds of encounters. It is the day-to-day
faithfulness, and simplicity of relationships – which may not
be written about or included in any stats.”
Both chaplains seem to speak with one voice, as they
serve a needy section of the populace. Inmates consider them
‘safe’ persons to talk to. They, in turn, are prepared to
listen – and keep on practicing listening – in order to hear
what the inmates are really saying.
February 2009
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