New Managing Chaplain at HMP Long Lartin

The Revd Sarah Gillard-Faulkner has been appointed as the new Managing Chaplain at HMP Long Lartin (near Evesham). She took up the role in mid-October and was officially licensed by Bishop Martin in Cathedral Evensong on Monday 9 November.

Sarah was ordained Deacon in the Diocese of Monmouth in 2009 serving a curacy in one of the Valleys parishes there before becoming a part-time Chaplain at HMP Cardiff in 2012. During her time in Cardiff she also worked in chaplaincy at HMP Usk and Prescoed, was Chaplain to the Bishop of Monmouth, and also served as Dean and Sub Prior at a parish in Abergavenny. In 2017 Sarah took up a full-time chaplaincy role at HMP Onley in the Diocese of Coventry before being appointed to be Managing Chaplain at HMP Long Lartin in July. She is also the Bishop of Oswestry’s Liturgical Chaplain.

Sarah said: “Prisons are very unique places, there’s nowhere else like them in society. They are complex, challenging and pressurised places to work, but it is a huge privilege to do so. Chaplaincy is hugely valued in prisons among both staff and prisoners and for me, it is one of the purest forms of ministry. I also feel it fits well with my calling as a Distinctive Deacon. Being a deacon is all about meeting people on the margins and there is nowhere better to do that than in a prison. We meet some fascinating people with interesting life stories, and I love being allowed into their lives to hear those.”

In her new role, Sarah will lead an interfaith team of 20 Chaplains, including employed staff, volunteers and sessional chaplains. Her department also oversees Sunday Friends who come in for worship, Prison Visitors who offer social visits to prisoners who might not otherwise get them, and the local Prison Fellowship Group, a Christian charity which seeks to support prison life through projects such as Angel Tree which helps prisoners send gifts home to their children.

The Chaplaincy team has a number of statutory duties, including ensuring prisoners can access their entitlement of an hour of worship each week, visiting vulnerable prisoners to offer pastoral care and being a presence in the prison community, making connections with those who live and work there. The team aims to be a hospitable place in the prison community, with a regular Friday team lunch to which they invite people from other departments.

Sarah continued: “I’m looking forward to getting to know the team and to bring a new perspective and energy, developing what they’re already doing. I’d also be very happy to chat to anyone who might want to support our work in the prison, by becoming a Sunday Friend or Prison Visitors. All these things have such an important role to play in prisoner mental health. Prisons are often forgotten about and I would encourage people to pray for our chaplaincy work there and the people who we serve.”