As Prisons Week invites Christians to reflect on the lives of people in prison and those who support them, the Revd Alex Day shares how God called him to a ministry he never expected and why he believes no one is beyond God's grace.
When the Revd Alex Day first heard about prison chaplaincy, his response was immediate.
"A friend of mine told me about prison chaplaincy, which I immediately dismissed as not for me in any way whatsoever," he recalls.
Yet the idea would not go away.
"God did not accept that answer and kept it on my heart and kept it on my mind."
After months of prayer and reflection, Alex arranged an informal visit with a departing prison chaplain. Walking through the prison and meeting the people there changed everything.
"When I walked around the prison and met the prisoners, I felt a real calling that I could speak into this ministry."
Despite accepting that call, Alex admits he stepped into the role with considerable apprehension.
"I'd never been in a prison. I knew nothing about prisons or prisoners. I was nervous for my safety, I was nervous for my family's safety and I did not know what to expect at all."
Today, prison chaplaincy has become a ministry centred on presence, listening and hope.
Alongside leading worship and Bible studies, Alex and his colleagues spend much of their time walking prison wings, talking with prisoners and offering support during some of life's most difficult moments.
"When people lose loved ones on the outside, we can take them to the chapel to light a candle, run memorial services and sometimes facilitate livestreams of funerals if that's available."
Many of the conversations he has are deeply personal.
"The conversations are raw, they're detailed, they're descriptive. The vulnerability is there to be seen."
In an environment where anxiety, isolation and uncertainty can be close to the surface, prisoners frequently approach chaplaincy with questions about faith, forgiveness and whether God could ever truly accept them.
"They'll ask where they sit with God, how they're perceived by God, whether they'll be accepted by God when they die and whether forgiveness really exists."
"A lot of people come seeking forgiveness and a lot of people come with a very, very heavy burden of guilt. They just don't believe it could ever be relinquished and they feel unworthy of God's grace." He said.
Yet Alex believes these conversations can be life-changing.
"These are life-saving, in many cases, conversations you're having with someone."
One such story remains particularly close to his heart.
He recalls working with a prisoner who had spent years trapped in addiction and cycling in and out of prison. After returning to custody, the man began engaging more seriously with Christian faith.
Together they prayed, studied the Bible and explored what discipleship might mean. Eventually he asked Alex to baptise him.
"It was an amazing service."
Today, Alex says, the man is living drug and alcohol free and credits his faith with helping to transform his life.
Stories like this remind Alex that prison ministry is fundamentally about hope.
"When you're facing a long sentence, you can easily lose hope. You can easily lose a sense of purpose in your life."
But faith offers a different perspective.
He reflects, "There is something that no matter what might be taken away from you in your current situation, there is hope after that."
One message he regularly shares with prisoners is simple yet profound:
"You may be a prisoner within these actual physical walls, but don't be a prisoner within yourself."
For Alex, Christian faith offers a path towards redemption, forgiveness and freedom, even within prison walls.
Perhaps the most powerful lesson of his ministry came through an encounter with a prisoner known for being angry, volatile and aggressive. Their first meeting went badly, leaving Alex upset and troubled.
After praying about it, he felt God prompting him to return and apologise for his part in the encounter. That simple act transformed the relationship. What began as hostility gave way to honesty and vulnerability, and by the end of the conversation both men were in tears.
Reflecting afterwards, Alex realised he had caught a glimpse of the person beneath the prisoner's defensive exterior.
"My job is to see people as God sees them, not as other people see them, or even as they see themselves."
That experience deepened his understanding of compassion, redemption and forgiveness.
"It's deepened my understanding of what it means to really love your neighbour as yourself."
At the heart of Alex's ministry is a conviction that every person remains made in the image of God, regardless of their circumstances or mistakes.
"Unfortunately, the world seems to have othered prisoners to a degree where some people think they're no longer the same as us."
But, he says, that could not be further from the truth.
"Of course they're like us because they are us. They are human beings deserving of God's grace."
For Alex, prison chaplaincy is where the Gospel's message of redemption is clearly evident.
"The doctrine of our Christian faith says no one is beyond the grace of God. No one is beyond God's reach."
That belief shapes every conversation, every act of listening and every worship service.
Asked why prison chaplaincy matters, his answer is immediate.
"What better place to share God's grace than in a place where people are incarcerated and don't believe they are worthy of it?"
Then he returns to the thought that best sums up his ministry:
"I am representing God in a place where you might not expect to find God."
And for those he meets behind prison walls, that presence can make all the difference.
The Revd Alex Day is a prison chaplain, and a curate at Pirbright and Wyke.