This October, churches across the UK will unite once again for Prisons Week, the annual ecumenical initiative calling Christians to prayer and action for all those affected by imprisonment. Prisons Week 2026 begins with Prisoners’ Sunday on 11 October and runs through to 17 October.
This year’s theme, “All Are Invited,” draws on the parable of the wedding banquet in Matthew 22:1–14, where the servants are sent out “into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.”
It is a theme of radical hospitality, a reminder that God’s invitation excludes no one, whatever their past.
Reflecting on the parable, organisers point to N.T. Wright’s observation that Jesus’ love reaches people wherever they are but refuses to leave them as they are. The campaign frames this as a call to respond to God’s invitation, whether for the first time or with a renewed insight, and to extend that same welcome to those the world might overlook.
New Resources for 2026
The resources for the week centre on prayer for four groups touched by the criminal justice system:
- Victims of crime;
- Offenders and those in custody
- Families of all affected
- Those working in the probation service, prisons, the police, the courts and chaplaincy.
A prayer diary and poster are available to help guide individuals and congregations through daily reflections for each of these groups across the week.
This year’s resources also include a campaign film exploring the theme, downloadable service-planning materials, and a suggested talk for use in worship.
Congregations wishing to take part can download the poster, prayer diary and full range of campaign resources from the Prisons Week website.
Prisons Week introductory film
What is Prisons Week?
Now in its sixth decade, Prisons Week began life in 1975 when an ecumenical committee was formed to encourage Christians to focus their thoughts and prayers on prisoners, their families, victims of crime, and those working across the justice system.
What started as a modest initiative has grown into one of the clearest examples of churches working together for a common good.
As this year’s campaign says: this Prisons Week, all are invited!