The Prison Fellowship Academy held its second annual graduation in San Quentin’s Protestant Chapel.
PFA is a Christian-based rehabilitation program that helps incarcerated people connect with spirituality.
On May 18 family and friends of the incarcerated graduates filled SQ’s Protestant Chapel.
Approximately 50 incarcerated graduates entered the chapel and took their seats; they were dressed in black caps and gowns.
Pastor E. Nobles, who hosted the event, thanked everyone for coming and said he was delighted for the graduates’ accomplishments. He told them they will always be Prison Fellowship family.
Honoring the state and the nation, SQ’s Color Guard presented the flags of California and the United States. Resident Joel V. Natividad sang the Star Spangled Banner, his voice lifting everyone’s spirits as they saluted the flags.
Garry Gorgei, 64, a graduate and Color Guard member, expressed his love for the program.
“What I love about the Prison Fellowship self-help program, it prepares you to go back into society and spread God’s word, which is true spiritual fellowship,” said Gorgei.
Gorgei is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and was stationed in Biloxi, Miss., before his honorable discharge in 1983.
The Revival Church’s praise team presented the gospel in song. Worshippers raised their hands and sang “Praise the Lord, He Is Worthy.”
Pastor Nobles addressed the graduates with encouraging words. “He [God] is worthy of it all. We all are children of the most high. We want to stay in that moment,” he said.
Prison Fellowship graduate Steven Embrey described his experience with the program.
“This program has been very helpful. It has gotten me the love. The things talked about in my group is a reflection of my life,” said Embrey. “ Trust in the Lord. His love will bring you through.”
Nobles called upon keynote speaker Pastor C. Adams, of San Francisco’s Revival Church, with the assistance of a Spanish interpreter.
Adams told attendees that he was glad to be with them that day and that he was excited. He told them that it is an important thing when a person makes Jesus Christ their Lord. “We know he is the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, Adams said. He added that if people are going to transform, it comes by the renewal of their minds.
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the full armor of God so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil,” Pastor Adams read from Ephesians 1, Verse 6.
He concluded by saying that when he was a pastor in Alabama, he encountered a man who had been arrested, and the man could not talk. The man went before a judge and did not talk. The judge warned him if he did not talk, he would remain in jail until he did.
Adams told the guests that the man did not start talking until a praise team visited him, and the man was transformed as he accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.
When Adams finished speaking, it was time to honor the graduates and present them with a certification of completion. Pastor Nobles and SQ resident Arturo Melendez made the presentations.
After all the graduates had received their certificates, Nobles thanked Warden Chance Andes (A), Community Resources Manager Marco Barragan, Public Information Officer Lt. G. Berry, and all SQ correctional staff.
At the conclusion of the program, guests enjoyed refreshments, and families and friends prayed together.
To join the program, SQ residents should fill out an “add program” application in SQ’s Education Annex. Classes are on Mondays and Thursdays. The program can be accessed via Prisonfellowship.org
