“I’ll continue as a prison chaplain until God stops me – or I’m too old.”
Meet Myra, the 80-year-old prison chaplain who has no plans to quit supporting people inside a south-east Queensland correctional centre any time soon.
The great-grandmother has been a dedicated volunteer prison chaplain with Inside Out Prison Chaplaincy for 18 years.
One of the ministry’s most experienced chaplains, Myra provides vital emotional and spiritual support to people facing dark times inside prison.
She also strives to help break the cycle of prisoners being released, re-offending and returning to jail.
Chaplaincy was a calling for Myra which she entered into after retiring from working as a house cleaner.
“I kept saying, ‘God, I don’t know what I want to do when I retire, but can you give me a ministry that I won’t like – I want to love it,” Myra recalls.
“I promise you I will do it until I can’t anymore. That means when I’m either dead or I’m in a wheelchair.”
Myra was inspired to become a chaplain after she first visited a prison in – of all places – Moldova. She had travelled to eastern Europe with her husband in 2008 to complete mission work.
“The first day we were there we were taken into a prison. I thought we were just going to look it over … but I was asked to give a message to 200 men without preparation,” Myra recalls.
“I was convinced that inside prisons was where I was to go. As soon as I got home, I applied to join Inside Out.”
Myra says one of the most satisfying aspects of her role is introducing “broken” incarcerated men to the bible – and then seeing them want to expand their knowledge of Jesus.
Myra believes prison chaplains are well regarded inside correctional centres and vital supports for prisoners’ rehabilitation and spiritual restoration.
“For men on the outside you often find that grandma is the person in a family who tries to hold it together,” Myra said.
“I’m a good age to be a chaplain because I’m like a grandma for these prisoners. They can talk to you easily, and I hear their stories.
“It’s not easy for prisoners when they get out so they really have to trust in Jesus. Just because we love Jesus, horrible things still happen in this world, but we talk with them about getting into a church community.”
Myra says there is an increasing demand for prison chaplains, noting that since she commenced the correctional centre’s prisoner population has almost doubled – and getting younger.
“We’re starting to see more guys in their 20s who look about 15. Some of these new prisoners are terrified,” she said.
That’s why Myra is looking forward to bringing up 20 years of faithful service with Inside Out Prison Chaplaincy – and hopefully a few more years beyond that.
Donations to the Carinity Chaplains Appeal will help Inside Out Prison Chaplaincy’s dedicated volunteer chaplains to continue positively impact the lives of people in Queensland correctional centres.
