The story last Wednesday in the jail Circle was about Hagar’s wilderness experience and the birth of Ishmael. The Circlekeeper opened up the Circle for discussion about things that had struck them. Responses from the women included…

• A strong conviction that Hagar should have pleaded for her child not to be an “ass of a man.”
• An assertion that it was significant that Hagar was told to “submit.” This woman thought it is very important to submit to God and his will, and that Hagar’s submission was what led to her offspring being multiplied so greatly.
• Follow-up opinions that women should submit to their husbands; men should be the head of the household.  To this the Circlekeeper said that there are men who ought not to be submitted to, and that abusive people should be left, not submitted to. There as general agreement to that.
• Several women said that they shared money-earning responsibilities with their husbands.

It was a productive and engaging discussion with various connections made to the story.