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| "Pastors
with a Past" |
Former
inmate and Richmond native shares his message of
responsibility and redemption |
| The
Richmond Times Dispatch |
| Sunday,
Jun 29, 2008 - 12:03 AM |
| By
Robin Farmer - TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER |
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Hasan
Zarif, who said his healing began with God's word,
worships at Ephesus Seventh-Day Adventist Church
Photo By: Joe Mahoney - Times Dispatch |
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On
a pleasant spring evening, Hasan Zarif nosed his vehicle past
the perimeter fence he helped install and the administration
buildings he painted years ago as an inmate at James River Correctional
Center.
Bible in hand, he headed toward the front gate. As he approached,
corrections officers who were headed home respectfully greeted
him and engaged in chitchat. Several officers knew him when
he was not the immaculately groomed minister visiting to lead
worship services, but an inmate at the Goochland County prison
serving a life sentence for murder. But even then, Zarif commanded
a certain level of respect. Long before he was paroled in 1989
after serving 16 years, he had begun reshaping his life while
incarcerated so once released he could repay society for what
he views as a lifelong debt.
"Ex-felons must serve a life sentence of rebuilding their
communities when they are released, rather than thinking, 'I've
served my time, my debt is paid,'" said Zarif, 56, who
last year became the first ex-offender in Virginia to serve
as a chaplain at a facility where he once served time.
"We have to become the change we want to see."
It's a message of responsibility and redemption that the Richmond
native shares as a popular speaker in state and federal prisons,
in area churches, at workshops he leads for Goodwill and in
the community. |
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An
ordained minister with the House of Prayer Deliverance Ministry
in Richmond, Zarif holds many titles. As coordinator of special
projects for Chaplain Service of the Churches of Virginia, he
serves as a liaison between Richmond churches and Chaplain Service,
a nonprofit organization that provides chaplains to Virginia's
prison and juvenile correctional centers. He also works as the
re-entry program coordinator for Goodwill of Central Virginia.
As such, he helps ex-offenders transition back into society. He
began working as a prison ministry volunteer in 1980 while incarcerated.
As a statewide volunteer, he visits four to six prisons a month.
A gifted speaker, Zarif hosts a call-in cable show on Comcast
95 and a Sunday radio show on WCLM-AM 1450, where "We reach,
the Bible teaches and God intervenes," he said.
Zarif's other volunteer activities include serving as chairman
of the New Creation Human Rights Committee in Chesterfield County. |
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But on this sunny Saturday, his mission was to share the Word
with two dozen denim-clad inmates in the JRCC dining hall, doubling
as a house of worship. They trickled in and sat at stainless-steel
tables as the prison's gospel choir, consisting of five vocalists,
a drummer, bassist and keyboard player warmed up. The acoustics
of the mess hall could not distort the rousing power of the vocalists
or the band's playing as the men clapped or tapped their feet
and sang along.
The song ended and Zarif stepped up to the podium to preach his
sermon. The men with tired faces and animated eyes leaned in.
Some of the men had committed horrific crimes.
Some of the men were seeking forgiveness.
Some of the men have been lost on a journey paved with pain because
of their actions.
For them, Zarif is a sermon they can see through the shared experiences
of preacher and prisoner.
Zarif's crime is something he'd rather not dwell on. He fully
accepts responsibility for it but doesn't want to discuss the
details out of respect for the victim's family. He did not know
the woman he fatally shot one evening as she headed to work. She
was a stranger he said he encountered while drunk and confused
over marital problems with his first wife.
But the act of taking a life haunts him and fuels his commitment
to serve a church of "more than 32,000 men and women behind
bars," he said. His work with prisoners and ex-offenders
has contributed to some of the numerous awards, certificates,
letters of commendation and clippings that make up a 10-pound
portfolio he always carries.
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Marcelle Harrison, one of Zarif's mentees, was serving a lengthy
sentence when he first heard Zarif speak 15 years ago.
"He came from a situation I was dealing with and I saw how
enthusiastic he was," Harrison recalled. "I used to
write to him. He would come visit me. I came home [in 2005] and
everything he told me he would do he kept to his word. When he
gave advice, it was good advice." And, with Zarif's aid,
Harrison got a job at Goodwill in retail production. "Hasan's
a wonderful guy. Very honest and concerned," Harrison said.
Longtime friends and supporters say the traits Zarif demonstrates
daily -- honesty, compassion, commitment -- were evident when
he was an inmate. James "J.W." Winston, once one of
the biggest club promoters in Richmond, befriended Zarif when
Zarif was a teenager working as a disc jockey at WANT radio. Winston
and his wife visited Zarif every other month while he was imprisoned.
When he was released, Zarif needed a place to live. The Winstons
allowed Zarif to live with them for 10 years.
"I let him stay here because I trusted him. You will not
find a better person," Winston said.
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The Rev. James Clements Jr., former pastor of Ephesus Seventh-day
Adventist Church at 3700 Midlothian Turnpike, befriended Zarif
in 1980 during the church's prison ministry. "When I first
met him in prison years ago, I was impressed that he was serious.
He had made a mistake in life, and he wanted to make amends of
that mistake. I found him to be sincere and very determined to
make a go of it." Over the years, the men became close, and
Clements became one of Zarif's staunchest advocates. "I appeared
before the parole board on his behalf so many times that when
he finally made parole, I was notified first," Clements said.
When Zarif was released and found a job working at night, Clements
gave up his car so Zarif could keep the job. Clements was among
the dozens who wrote letters asking Gov. Timothy M. Kaine to grant
Zarif a pardon. Others included Walter F. Sullivan, Bishop Emeritus
of Richmond, who befriended Zarif in 1977.
Kaine restored Zarif's civil rights last summer, which means he
can vote, hold public office, serve on a jury and be a notary
public, which he now is. "The governor didn't just give me
my rights back. It's been 35 years of work," Zarif said.
Ex-offenders "must be nonviolent, non-drug and alcohol users,
and they must be willing to forgive, pray for the victim's family
and friends and put them at the top of their prayer list. They
must pray for forgiveness," he said. Zarif's parole lasted
12 years. It ended on his birthday in 2001. He doesn't believe
that was a coincidence. "It's a reminder of the past and
what I need to continue to do to be productive in the future,"
he said. |
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Zarif's parole lasted 12 years. It ended on his birthday in 2001.
He doesn't believe that was a coincidence. "It's a reminder
of the past and what I need to continue to do to be productive
in the future," he said. Zarif credits his wife, Ruth, for
helping him complete his transition into a productive citizen.
"My wife doesn't realize how much she has helped me. I thought
all I was good to do was to mop floors, and she helped me to fully
realize who I was." Ruth Zarif said she saw the potential
in her husband immediately, one reason they married in 1992 within
six months of meeting. "His love for people is his greatest
gift," she said. "Hasan has beat the odds; he refuses
to give up. He means to succeed, and I'm proud of him and the
hard work he does." Zarif also credits Goodwill and Chaplain
Service for his growth. "They both offered me numerous opportunities
that would not have otherwise been available to me had it not
been for leadership at the helm who really understands and believes
in the redemptive process." But his healing all began with
God's Word, he said, although several years passed while incarcerated
before he listened.
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At his lowest point, "God revealed to me I couldn't do nothing
without him," Zarif recalled. So he began attending
Seventh-day Adventist worship services. He was baptized in 1980,
the year he became a Bible instructor.
Zarif loves the Bible and enjoys sharing it. On this day at the
correctional center, his sermon was about "a man who the
church is built on." Sunlight poured in from a wall of windows
with views of men outside lifting weights, doing push-ups or conversing
under a brilliant blue sky. But all eyes were riveted on Zarif.
"Saul was out of control. Anyone here out of control like
that, let me see the hands." The men thrust their hands in
the air as Zarif's voice rose. "Saul was a man so mean, nasty,
a murderer who pilfered churches, and then God decided to use
him! That's the way we are. We've done some terrible stuff, but
God wants to use us." The men listened attentively; some
nodded in agreement. "But only if we change our wicked ways.
Saul became Apostle Paul and wrote 13 books in the Bible."
Zarif wrapped up his sermon by reminding the men that their penance
will continue long after they return home. "Your debt to
society is not paid, ever! You have a responsibility, according
to the second book of Genesis, to rebuild that, which you tore
down!" After the sermon, Zarif chatted with the inmates,
offering encouraging words to those who needed it. His visit over,
he drove away, headed home to dinner and the wife and the life
he has rebuilt. |
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| Click
link to view other articles about Chaplain Service |
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"Ex-offenders
Grateful for Restored Rights" The Richmond Times Dispatch |
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"Voting
Rights Restoration helps us All" The
Richmond Times Dispatch |
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"Prison
Chaplains Have Big Job" The
Richmond Times Dispatch |
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Many
Factors Behind Second Highest Toll - The State of the Death Penalty
in VA.
The
Richmond Times Dispatch
(Please be sure to view the two Acrobat PDF files
provided in this article at InRich.com) |
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"Panel
Discusses Felons Who Want Right to Vote" The
Richmond Times Dispatch |
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"Tight
Budget Forces Chaplains to Regroup" The
Richmond Times Dispatch |
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"Virginia's
prison population forecast to rise"
The Richmond
Times Dispatch |
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"Keeping
the Faith in Prison"
The Richmond Times Dispatch |
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"Second
Chances at Life"
Christianity Today |
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"Chaplain
Service job seems made to order" The
Richmond Times Dispatch |
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"Prison
Chaplain Service Celebrates 85 Years" The
Richmond Times Dispatch |
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"Chaplains
On Call for Death - And Life" The
Richmond Times Dispatch |
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"The
Chaplain Service Remembers Those in Prison"
The Richmond
Times Dispatch |
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