I just finished reading Tattoos on the Heart and recommend it to everyone, not just those working with incarcerated people. But it should be mandatory reading for anybody working with “hard living people” (as Tex Sample names them). Tattoos on the Heart tells stories from the author’s thirty years working with gang members in L.A. interwoven with commentary on human and divine nature. No book has ever caused me to laugh and cry as much as this one.

Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion—Gregory Boyle (2010)

I also highly recommend the following two books:

Cut Dead But Still Alive: Caring for African American Young Men—Gregory C. Ellison II (2013)

Hard Living People & Mainstream Christians—Tex Sample (1993)

My workshop on Circle of the Word at the NBS Festival Gathering earlier this month was attended by a perfect mix of just the right number of people: young/not-so-young, from various branches of the Christian family and various states around the country, African and Anglo American. Some had years of experience in prison ministry while others were newly contemplating it.

Our focus story was one I had never taught before in any context: the story of “The Bent-Over Woman” from Luke 13.

The “I wonder” activity was one of the exercises I chose to demo. I was amazed at the depth of wondering questions participants had as well as the powerful comments they made on the second round when they got to address any one “wondering.”

I picked “The Bent-Over Woman” because it was one of the theme stories for the Festival Gathering, but it turned out to be a great story for prison/jail ministry. I’ll definitely teach at the jail this year. How powerful it is to hear Jesus say, “Woman, you are set free from your affliction!”

The children at Bellbrook (Ohio) United Methodist Church raised money for Heifer Project during Vacation Bible School. I told the scripture for Sunday morning worship there on the last Sunday in July and was rewarded with a handful of bumper stickers proclaiming “Chicks Change Lives.”

I requested them to take to our Seeds of Grace meeting the next day. What better motto could there be for a group of women dedicated to telling and teaching biblical stories in the county jail every week! We trust through God’s grace that lives are changed among the women in the jail who attend our Circle. But we know for certain that this ministry has changed, and blessed, our lives.

The main agenda item for our July 27 meeting was videotaping a demo Circle of the Word for this site to help others do what we do and receive the blessing we have received. Hopefully those will be added to the “Activities” section this month.

Left to right: Amelia, Jennifer, Myrna, Susan, Barbara, Roberta, Sharlyn (and Rhea, not pictured). We used to joke about being “jail birds.” Now it’s “jail chicks”!

The week we learned the story of “Hagar is Sent Away” (Gen. 21:8-14) I did a follow-up round: “Identify one part of the story that especially stands out for you and explain why you chose that part.” I gave titles to each part so that in reviewing them, the storyline was reviewed.

It was a good round. Everyone picked a part and explained the reason for their choice. Most reasons were very serious. Mine not so much. I picked part three because when I was telling the story for the storyboard exercise I forgot to tell about Abraham being distressed until I told about God saying to him, “Don’t be distressed.” 

We tallied the responses; here are the results:

1. Isaac is weaned—2
2. Sarah is adamant—0
3. Abraham is distressed—2
4. Hagar is sent away—3

The first person who picked part one did so because she thought the story went “The child grew and was winged. Abraham gave a great feast on the day Isaac was winged.” [Check out her storyboard.] We all had a good laugh and she gave me permission to tell the Winged Isaac story on this blog.

I pointed out that’s exactly the kind of thing that happens with oral tradition. For the first part of the Circle, the only exposure she had to the story was my telling it, and she heard “winged.” We also decided there was a close connection between being weaned and being winged. Both have to do with separation from mother.

The summer Circle of the Word (COW) series of  “Founding Mothers” is now over and I’m taking a 6-week break to accommodate various travels and conflicting events. The first trip is to Chevy Chase, MD just outside Washington D.C., where I arrived today. I’ll be presenting COW at two back-to-back annual events of the Network of Biblical Storytellers (NBS).

The NBS Seminar began today and goes through Tuesday. This is a meeting of about 25 storytelling scholars and scholarly storytellers who explore the impact of selected stories told aloud to an audience, and share the work they are doing related to performance criticism. 

The dual theme of the seminar this year is fear-not stories and stories of women. The mini-epic we are telling is from Genesis, and includes the stories I chose for the “Founding Mothers” series. In fact, that’s why I chose those stories. I will be presenting a summary of my doctoral dissertation on spiritual empowerment through biblical storytelling with incarcerated men and women, and use the story “God Saves Hagar” (Gen. 21:8-14) to demonstrate a few COW activities.

As soon as the Seminar is over the 4-day NBS Festival Gathering begins. On Friday I’ll be presenting a workshop on Circle of the Word. I’ll attempt to both describe the program and model it, as well as to suggest ideas for getting started in detention ministry. Not sure I can do all that in 90 minutes, but I’ll give it my best shot.