Being the local Dutch chaplain

Last year, a chaplain friend asked me if I would be willing to visit a Dutch prisoner in Toronto. Sure, I said. I was busy enough but I was not formally working at that time, I live in Toronto, and have the required training. I was ready to go visit a working prison for the first time.

The Toronto visit never happened – the man was sent back to the Netherlands – but I’ve now been to several prisons, all of them in the United States. I visit on behalf of a Christian organization called Epafras, a partner of the Dutch government. (Epaphras was a companion of Paul and, from what Paul writes, a formidable person.) The Epafras foundation recruits Dutch chaplains or other clergy who live abroad to visit Dutch prisoners in their area. So I became the “local” Dutch chaplain for all of the Midwestern U.S. effectively. And unless someone volunteers to join me, which would be welcome, I might be making visits in Canada soon.

Prison realities

Visiting prisoners is a daunting learning experience. Once, the inmate was handcuffed to a steel table and announced that he would be subjected to an intrusive search after our conversation. Another time, the inmate said point blank that he kidnapped someone for money. Some of these men may never come out of prison alive.

Some prisons are bad, others are slightly better. Generally there are two prisoners to one cell, but in one case the prisoner lived in a dorm with 90 other guys. I sometimes sit in the general visiting area where there may be games and toys for small children or the opportunity to take family pictures. You see mothers visiting their sons, wives and girlfriends visiting their partners. The sadness is palpable. The courage too.

Some prisoners I visit are Christians, others not or not anymore – it doesn’t matter, and then of course it does. They live their lives behind bars, but they find ways to live meaningful lives, and I admire them for how they do that. One of them writes columns, like I do, and we had fun discussing how he and I approach the writing process. Readers of Dutch who are curious about the challenges of prison life might take a look – “René geeft antwoord” in Comeback magazine at epafras.nl.

The business of truth

Quite regularly, my visit makes me aware of situations where stronger Christian network connections would make a big difference. A family member far away struggles with depression and needs support. A visit from a priest would help to repair the damage a church representative did in the past. A prisoner is released. But as things are, there is not much I can do.

I wish local churches would more actively engage in prison ministry. They can benefit from it. To put it bluntly, churches are in the justice business and in the truth business. (Right?) Yet far too often, the truth churches care about gets divorced from reality and becomes an identity issue. I fear that if Christians lose sight of reality, they lose sight of Jesus as well. Have I spent too much time in the United States?