Dedicated prison chaplains are ready to step foot inside Queensland’s newest and largest correctional centre to support prisoners navigating their darkest days.
A team of chaplains from Inside Out Prison Chaplaincy – all but one of them volunteers – will support those confined inside the new Lockyer Valley Correctional Centre.
The high-security men’s prison, located near Gatton and boasting more than 1,500 beds, will open this week.
It will bring to 16 the number of correctional centres around Queensland in which Inside Out chaplains offer pastoral care and spiritual support to those who are incarcerated.
It is anticipated that chaplains from six prison chaplaincy services will support prisoners inside the new Lockyer Valley facility.
The volunteer chaplains include Curtis Rothemund, a local church pastor in the Gatton district who currently serves as a prison chaplain at a correctional centre near Ipswich.
Curtis is looking forward to increasing his support for men “who have hit rock bottom” when Lockyer Valley Correctional Centre opens.
“It was important for me, once I heard that new prison was opening in the Gatton area, to have the opportunity to share the gospel with people who are lost and in need,” Curtis said.
“A prison is the best place to do that. What I’m finding is people on the inside are more receptive to this than people on the outside. We want to give the guys on the inside the chance to come to the Lord, accept him, and help them improve their life.”
“We have a tremendous opportunity to sit and share, hear their stories and see the positive changes in these men’s lives. That’s the blessing I get personally from this ministry.”
Myriam Malga, who has been a volunteer prison chaplain with Inside Out Prison Chaplaincy for four years, currently supports inmates at Southern Queensland Correctional Centre.
“To walk into a prison and to meet all these people and hear their stories, it’s a privilege for me and it’s my way of serving Christ. The comfort that Christ gave me, I want to give it to others,” she said.
Curtis said supporting people in prison for the past two years has been “one of the most fulfilling experiences that I’ve had”.
“We don’t see everything that happens to them on the outside when they are released, but at least we had that small positive part to play in their life.”