As 2022 speeds to a close, the Prison Fellowship team and those we serve are finishing strong, focused on the Lord and celebrating the gift He brought to us so many years ago.
A recent Prison Fellowship Academy class in Muskegon, Mich., has shown incredible perseverance in the face of obstacles. The remaining eight students in the Academy
class just graduated—but not quite when they thought they would! Their Academy journey, usually one year long, began in October 2019. When the pandemic halted their classes in March 2020, the men wondered if they would ever finish the second half of their curriculum. With the help of dedicated volunteers, Michigan Department of Corrections partners who believe in the program, and Prison Fellowship staff, the men wore caps and gowns, three years after they started, to celebrate their accomplishments. The graduates marked the occasion with speeches, music, Scripture reading, coffee, and donuts.
One of the graduates shares:
Being a student in the Prison Fellowship Academy has given me an opportunity to be a better person and strengthen my relationships both with my brothers in Christ in prison and also with my family and friends in ‘the world.’ These classes have given me tools that I previously didn’t have access to—like being able to resolve conflict in a godly manner.
Congratulations to these committed Academy graduates for finishing strong!
As we approach the celebration of Christ’s birth, volunteers are delivering hundreds of thousands of Angel Tree Christmas gifts to children of incarcerated parents around the country. Will you join us in prayer over these children and their families?
Reggie, a parent behind bars, talked to us by phone from prison to share with us how God has used Angel Tree gifts to improve his relationship with his children. Reggie has been incarcerated in Oklahoma since 2015. He serves the men in his unit as a chapel clerk. He first signed up his kids for Angel Tree Christmas gifts in 2016 because it gave him a way to connect with his children. He says, "I love Angel Tree because it gives me an opportunity to continue rebuilding the brokenness that they experienced with me leaving their life. You know, it gives a means to [say], ‘Yeah, Daddy might be gone, but Daddy is still able to send me gifts.’ Angel Tree is good. Angel Tree actually opened my eyes to a point of eventually, one day, I'm going to be out of this place, and I want
to be able to give back the same way that I have received."
Reggie’s already giving back by sharing his own story with other men in prison. He recently spoke at an Angel Tree Parent Day event, where he encouraged more than 100 men to sign up their own kids to receive a gift and the Gospel this Christmas. Praise the Lord!
During this season, when people in prison are missing their families and searching for the hope of Jesus, your support ensures that we can continue to reach people with the greatest Gift anyone could receive. Thank you for shining the light of the Gospel for those impacted by crime and incarceration.
Joyfully,
JAMES J. ACKERMAN President and Chief Executive Officer
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Prison Fellowship P.O. Box 1550, Merrifield, VA, 22116-1550 US
