For moms and dads behind bars, Christmas can be a particularly difficult time of the year. Separated from their sons and daughters, these parents struggle to connect with their children—to let them know that they care for them and remember them, even when distance and iron bars keep them apart for the holidays.
For over 30 years, Prison Fellowship has been providing incarcerated parents the chance to show love to their children during the holidays through our Angel Tree program. Prisoners are able to request specific gifts for their kids, which are then purchased and delivered to their children on their behalf by thousands of church members across the country. Along with the gifts, an age-appropriate presentation of the Gospel is included, telling the kids of their Heavenly Father and of the first Christmas Gift, given to all of mankind in a stable in Bethlehem.
In the most recent installment of our video blog, Denise Harris, Prison Fellowship’s field director in the Detroit area, talks about the experience of entering prison to sign up incarcerated parents for this year’s Angel Tree deliveries. “It was such a blessing to assist these men and women sign up their children for Angel Tree,” Harris says. “You could tell they felt a sense of empowerment as they completed the forms and chose gifts for their children out of the gift guide.”
And it’s not only the children who benefit from Angel Tree. Harris recounts a story of a father who said both he and his wife had been receiving encouraging cards from church members. When she told him that this was the same church that had provided his family gifts as a part of Angel Tree, the man replied, “When I get out of prison that’s where me and my family are going.”
There is still time for you and your church or small group to be a part of Angel Tree this Christmas. Be a part of this unique opportunity to share the love of Christ and to strengthen and reunite families this holiday season. To sign up, visit https://www.prisonfellowship.org/about/angel-tree/register/.
