Prison Chaplain - Silverwater

Do you want a career that means more? At Anglicare Sydney, we bring the strength, the support and the strategy to make it happen.

We’re a well-respected not-for-profit that’s been serving people in need for over 170 years. Our vision is simple yet powerful:
Jesus Christ honoured, lives enriched and communities strengthened.

As our Justice Chaplain, you’ll have the opportunity to bring pastoral care, spiritual support and the hope of the Christian faith to people within the correctional environment at Silverwater.

You’ll walk alongside inmates during times of crisis and significant personal challenge, providing a compassionate presence while encouraging positive life choices that can contribute to better outcomes during incarceration and following release.

Your ministry will also extend, as opportunities arise, to prison staff and the families and friends of people in custody.

Justice Chaplaincy is a unique ministry that calls for compassion, resilience, wisdom and a genuine ability to build relationships with people from diverse backgrounds and life experiences.

You’ll provide pastoral support to all inmates who seek it, regardless of their beliefs, while creating opportunities for Christian inmates to be strengthened and challenged in their faith.

For inmates who are not Christians but wish to explore Christianity, you’ll provide opportunities to engage with the Christian message through individual pastoral conversations, chapel services and access to Bibles and Christian literature.

• Provide pastoral care and support to inmates experiencing crisis, distress or other significant life circumstances.
• Provide one-to-one pastoral care, discipleship and meaningful chapel services that encourage Christian inmates in their faith.
• Create appropriate opportunities for inmates who wish to explore Christianity to engage with the Christian message and access Bibles and Christian resources.
• Provide pastoral support to relatives and correctional staff during times of need, where opportunities arise.
• Build respectful relationships with people from diverse backgrounds while working within the procedures, boundaries and safety requirements of a correctional environment.

You’re a resilient and relational Christian who can remain calm and grounded in complex and challenging environments.

You know how to listen with empathy, establish rapport and treat every person with dignity while maintaining appropriate professional and ministry boundaries.

You’ll be confident communicating the Christian faith while understanding that effective Justice Chaplaincy requires sensitivity, respect and an ability to meet people where they are.

You’ll also bring the judgement and resilience needed to work within a highly structured environment - following procedures, managing risk, resolving conflict appropriately and remaining composed under pressure.

• Completed or currently completing theological studies at degree or diploma level.
• Experience and/or qualifications in pastoral care, or currently working towards these.
• A mature Christian faith and demonstrated ability to provide compassionate, respectful pastoral support.
• Ability to build rapport and communicate effectively with people experiencing complex circumstances.
• Ability to remain composed under pressure, work within established procedures and maintain appropriate professional boundaries.

On completion of theological studies, you’ll need to be eligible to hold a licence issued by the Bishop and a Certificate of Appointment. Anglicare Justice Chaplains, whether clergy or lay people, are appointed by the Bishop to their specific ministry context.

The successful candidate…