When Joanna and her husband were invited to Alpha they went “mostly out of politeness.” She had no idea that it would reawaken her faith and lead her into a transformative ministry behind bars that would bring her immense joy.
“I’m a believer but not a practitioner,” she’d joke
Joanna grew up in a Christian family and believed in God but by the time her children had grown up, she and her husband Sławek had stopped going to church regularly. “I’m a believer but not a practitioner,” she’d joke. Although life was good, Joanna felt that something was missing.
She thought about God more and more and had the urge to go back to church, encouraging Sławek to go, too. He wasn’t keen but they went a few times, always standing at the back, trying to be inconspicuous. They didn’t want to get too involved.
One day, Jacek – a friend from Sławek’s work – invited the two of them to a ‘meeting’. It turned out to be an Alpha course, run by Jacek and his wife, Lena. “We went mostly out of politeness”, admits Joanna. “We told ourselves we’d go once and if we didn’t like it, we didn’t have to come back.”
Life-changing
What did Alpha give me? Peace. I stopped being afraid of everything.
Alpha turned out to be a life-changing experience for both of them. “What did Alpha give me? Peace. I stopped being afraid of everything,” Joanna shares. “My stomach doesn’t hurt from stress anymore. I also have more patience. I look at problems differently now.”
Sławek felt different, too, and the couple started going to confession and attending mass regularly – this time sitting in the front pew. Seeing the effect of Alpha on these two parishioners, the priest asked Jacek and Lena to run Alpha in his parish, which they did, assisted by Joanna and Sławek.
As well as running Alpha in their church, Joanna and Sławek, who joined a domestic church group, also began helping to run The Marriage Course. But Joanna still felt she wanted to do more to help others come to know “the living God” who had brought her such peace. That’s why she said yes when Lena invited her to help run Alpha for women in a prison in autumn 2024.
They may only be there for the coffee and cake at first, but then they open up.
“There was some fear,” she admits. “I’d never been inside prison gates, so I didn’t know what to expect. The security checks, the procedures – that made me anxious.” But as she got to know the women and see them change, she felt a deep sense of joy.
A clear response
“At the first meeting they’re always quiet, sad, cautious, and maybe even look at us with pity. We talk about Jesus, love and kindness, and there’s a clear response. They may only be there for the coffee and cake at first, but then they open up, start talking, asking questions, telling their own stories. Smiles appear. I can see that our conversations, our presence there, makes them happy. It amazes me and fills me with joy to see that they’re changing.”
The autumn Alpha was followed by another one in spring, with more prisoners interested in participating after hearing about the first one. “The women who’ve been to Alpha tell the others about it,” says Joanna. “They give testimonies of how their lives are changing, how they now see the world differently, reflect on what they’ve done in the past.”
The officers notice it
She’s also seen the impact that Alpha has had on the prison staff, too.
“During the first Alpha, none of the staff knew us but now they are very kind to us. You can really feel the influence inside the prison, and the officers notice it. Sometimes the girls in the hallway shout for joy when they see us coming or leaving. And during the first Alpha one of the staff – a caseworker – came and did the whole course with us.”
Joanna says she has learned so much from her experience of running Alpha in prison: “You can help people just by talking to them, being present, telling them that Jesus loves them, that they can pray, read the Bible – and they do these things. And that’s what brings joy!”
