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PRISON FELLOWSHIP: Mary Kay Beard

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God So Loved a Bank Robber: The ‘Mind-Boggling’ Origins and Ongoing Impact of Angel Tree

As Prison Fellowship Angel Tree turns 40, the legacy of one former safecracker is irrefutable proof of the potential that’s behind bars, just waiting to come to light.

By Alyson R. Quinn
December 14, 2022
Angel Tree | Mary Kay Beard
advocates-for-incarcerated-mothers
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How One Woman Advocated for Incarcerated Mothers

In high school, Mary Kay Beard placed at the top of her graduating class. A few years down the road, she was on the FBI's top ten most-wanted list.

By Emily Andrews
May 11, 2017
Mary Kay Beard
PFO Mary Kay Beard
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Year in Review: Remembering ‘An Angel’

For 40 years, Prison Fellowship® has been going into correctional facilities, sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with those behind bars, and offering the hope of true transformation. Through the use of Bible-based programming, and with the help of thousands of committed volunteers, lives are being changed, hope is being restored, and darkness is being replaced with the promise of a future.

By Prison Fellowship
December 23, 2016
Angel Tree | Charles Colson Hope Awards | Mary Kay Beard | Restorer of Hope | Year in Review
Colson_Hope_Awards_FEATURE
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Announcing the 2016 Charles Colson Hope Award Honorees

On August 9, 1976—two years to the day that President Richard Nixon resigned from as President of the United States—Charles Colson founded Prison Fellowship. The former Nixon adviser, who spent seven months in a federal correctional facility after pleading guilty to Watergate-related charges, left prison a changed man, committed to “remembering the prisoner” and honoring the God-given value and potential of every person affected by crime and incarceration.

By Steve Rempe
August 9, 2016
Burl Cain | Charles Colson | Charles Colson Hope Awards | Chuck Colson | Danny Croce | David and Charlotte Cauwels | Hope Awards | John Cornyn | Mary Kay Beard
Mary Kay feature image
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Remembering an ‘Angel’

By the time she turned 27, Mary Kay Beard had established herself as one of the most notorious criminals in the country. Along with her husband, Mary Kay was wanted in four states for a string of bank robberies and was the target of a mafia “hit” for double-crossing the mob on a diamond heist. 

By Steve Rempe
April 18, 2016
Angel Tree | Chris Colson | Mary Kay Beard | Prison Fellowship
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Being a Gift to Others

In the summer of 1974, Charles W. "Chuck" Colson, the former special prosecutor for President Richard Nixon, entered the gates of Maxwell Correctional Facility in Alabama.  There he would serve seven months, having plead guilty to an obstruction of justice charge connected to the Watergate break-in and cover-up.

By Steve Rempe
December 17, 2015
Angel Tree | Chris Colson | Christmas | Chuck Colson | Mary Kay Beard
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The Origins of Angel Tree

For over 30 years, Prison Fellowship’s Angel Tree program has been providing children Christmas gifts on behalf of their mothers and fathers in prison, as well as a simple message about God’s love and forgiveness.  Through Angel Tree, families have been restored, kids have been encouraged, and the Gospel has been proclaimed.

By Steve Rempe
December 2, 2014
Angel Tree | Christmas | Mary Kay Beard
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The Look in Their Eyes

A version of the following article originally appeared on the BreakPoint website.

 

When a parent is sentenced to prison, he or she is not the only one being punished. The children suffer too. How especially tough it is for them at Christmas time.

By Shane Morris
October 28, 2013
Breakpoint | Mary Kay Beard
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Elmo

It was Christmas. My husband was in prison. Haranguing thoughts constantly harassed me.

How can I possibly forgive him? How can I ever live this down? How can I go on?

That was twenty-three years ago.  Last Sunday, I fingered an Angel Tree ornament.

By Nancy Dobbins
February 1, 2013
Christmas | Mary Kay Beard | Volunteers

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PRISON FELLOWSHIP IN THE NEWS

View our latest press releases and hear what other publications are saying about Prison Fellowship and our programs.

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