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the sozo project
Christian support for women
leaving prison |
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the sozo project: Christian support for women leaving
prison. |
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About Us
Formed in 2008,
the national Christian network of volunteers
is growing towards our objective of at least
125 geographical centres to serve women
released from UK prisons who wish to
re-shape their lives, and to reflect and
personify God’s forgiveness in the
community. A number of Christian Prayer
Centres are also being established around
the country to support the network. The New
Testament Greek word “sozo” is translated as
“healing”, “forgiveness” and “salvation”. |
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 As
Christians we believe that people
can change. Women who are truly
sorry for their offences and have
received God’s forgiveness through
the work of the prison chaplaincy
have a strong foundation on which to
re-build their lives on return to
the community. The healing process,
begun in prison, can be continued in
society after release by suitable
spiritual and pastoral support
mechanisms. |
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We work with prison
chaplaincy teams primarily and with
other departments within the prison
service to identify women who feel
they need support in the locality to
which they are returned at the end
of their sentence.
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Jesus
supported restorative justice as
indicated many times in the New
Testament. For example, John 8:
1-11. Here, Jesus recognises the
vulnerability of the woman, refuses
to condemn her, leads others not to
judge or condemn her, heals and
forgives her, warns her against
re-offending and returns her to the
community.
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 Similarly,
in the story of Jesus’s encounter
with the Samaritan woman (John 4:
4-42), Jesus again recognises her
vulnerability, that she is shunned
by her community, and seeks to
rehabilitate her, build her
self-esteem and re-shape her life.
Jesus returned “offenders” to their
communities after forgiveness and
healing. If the prison chaplaincy
does this too, then chaplains also
have the right to expect Christians
outside the prison gates to carry on
this work in the community. This is
part of the foundation of The Sozo
Project. |
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Women are particularly
vulnerable when leaving prison, are
generally disoriented and disempowered in a
society from which they have been estranged.
Some suffer from low self-esteem and a fear
of what they may encounter when they leave
prison, including hostility and pressures to
re-offend. Others may have children in care
or individual family problems to cope with.
Each woman is, of course, unique. The
Christian support network is there for them
where they are released, to listen,
encourage, support, and to build confidence,
fellowship, trust and spiritual growth. |
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the sozo project ©
2010 Christian support for women leaving prison.
Site designed by
www.your-website2.co.uk |
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