Our last Circle of the Word for awhile at DCI (state women’s prison) focussed on the story of Mary visiting Elizabeth after Gabriel breaks the news that she will conceive a son, despite the fact that she is young, unmarried, and a virgin. Our first connection topic was to tell about a time we went on a journey to visit a relative, especially if we were facing a challenge. That generated some significant stories, mostly pretty hard.

I didn’t want to leave our series on “Good News” without a positive, hopeful note, so I reviewed the story in my mind looking for such a note. I landed on that word “blessing” which at least half the group had named in the “Word I Heard” exercise. In her greeting of Mary, Elizabeth exclaims, “Blessed is the mother of my Lord, and blessed is the fruit of her womb!”

So I invited us to think about how this story of Mary visiting Elizabeth from the Gospel of Luke might be a blessing for us during the holiday season–a time of the year which is so problematic for those in prison (that had been named very directly by several women during our Check-In).

As usual, I went first. I said that whenever I thought of this story in the coming days, I would remember our time with it in Circle. I would recall how much I enjoyed that time, of how we laughed about the prospect of me getting caught trying to take out contraband: the roll of toilet paper in my bag (another story for another day).

The women who spoke in Circle, including the other two Circlekeepers, then followed my lead in commenting about the class. Their comments, in contrast to mine, were more reflective and serious.

They were also astonishingly positive, affirming once again the value of this approach to Bible and Christian faith. They let me know in no uncertain terms, that this work must continue. Even if the Circle is small it is worth the effort. There were ten of us that day; the previous time there had been only six.

A recurring theme was the value of visual learning and more generally of how different approaches to engaging the story take advantage of different learning styles. The woman who first named this benefit, one of the most responsible and excellent participants, had an amusing way of introducing it. She said that when she was a child, she was told, “I had trouble with reading comprehension.” And as she got older she was told, “I had trouble with reading comprehension.” So she believed it.

But with the various approaches to learning we use in Circle of the Word, she found she was able to learn just fine. She identified herself as “a visual learner.” Others followed suit. They named the objects we use for talking pieces as well as the storyboard activity as visual learning approaches. It was very fulfilling to think I had a hand in improving their self images as learners. It was also important feedback about what makes Circle of the Word work so well.