We started a new series of stories today, the stories from Mark 1, starting with Mark 1:1-8. The series theme is “Good News” from the title Mark gave his Gospel. Connections with the story were made early on. During our check-in time two women said they had just received good news and another that she had received bad news.

It was a great group, larger than usual. I ask for no more than twelve, but today we had fourteen because all but one woman on Chaplain’s list came, which doesn’t usually happen. And fortunately there were three Circlekeepers. So our Circle filled the entire room.

Everybody participated very well in the various storylearning and storytelling activities. In a round where each woman had an opportunity to tell about her favorite part of the story and show her storyboard, the creator of the storyboard above explained that the sun represented God and the water represented baptism. The fish symbol represented the title: “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ the Son of God” and was there because I had suggested it.

We had discussed the various meanings and English translations for euaggeliou and Christou. I had also shown them the fish symbol early Christians used and explained about ICTHUS and about Mark being written in Greek since no one spoke English two thousand years ago. Someone asked what the bumper sticker with “DARWIN” inside a walking fish symbol meant. Great question that led to some interesting discussion.

When it came to the storyboard activity, I suggested drawing the fish symbol at the top to illustrate the title, before we went through the four parts of the story about John the Baptizer. That’s the first time I’ve ever made a suggestion about what to draw in a storyboard exercise. But it was okay—they were all very interested in the fish symbol. It was easier than dividing the paper into five parts to accommodate one verse, and saved time, which was an issue today.

Storyboards are created to help learn, tell, and connect with the story. I took photos of several of the storyboards from volunteers in Circle today who were willing to have them shared online. I’ll share the others in future posts, along with feedback from the women on the story. For info on Storyboard Partner Telling and Name an Episode see Instructions for Learning Core Activities, part 2 on the Activities section of this site.

After a six-week break, we start up at the jail this Wednesday with a nine-week series on Mark 1. The theme is “The Good News” from the first verse, which is really a title: The Beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

I’ve gone back and forth about whether to use “gospel,” “good news,” or “story” to translate tou euaggeliou. Another translation issue is regarding christou. Sometimes I opt for the literal meaning, “anointed one” and sometimes “Messiah” from the Hebrew rendering.

Then there’s the question of whether or not to include “Son of God” as part of the title. Contemporary biblical scholarship argues persuasively that it is not original to Mark, but was added by scribes at a relatively early stage of textual development.

This time I decided to follow the NRSV on each of these translation decisions for the written story map. But when I tell it, one or the other may prevail. In any case, the “About the Story” page will include brief discussion of these translation issues.

However the title gets translated, the first story is about John the Baptizer. Our talking pieces will be a shell, symbolic of baptism, and a key chain of a sandal that my daughter brought back as a souvenir from her visit to Assisi, Italy this summer. 

Following the heart-wrenching story of Lefty, Fr. Greg Boyle (known in the barrio as “G”) writes:

…part of the spirit dies a little each time it’s asked to carry more than its weight in terror, violence, and betrayal. “By the tender mercy of God,” Scripture has it, “the dawn from on high will break upon us to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death to guide our feet in the way of peace.” How do those who “sit in darkness” find the light?

This question is soon followed by another worth contemplating:

How does one hang in there with folks, patiently taking from the wreck of a lifetime of internalized shame, a sense that God finds them (us) wholly acceptable?

I’m convinced that internalizing certain stories from the Bible in a creative, safe atmosphere is one approach to answering these questions.

[The above quotes are from Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion by Gregory Boyle (NY: Free Press, 2010).]

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.

When we went to Stony Point Center in NY at the end of May to lead a 3-day retreat on biblical storytelling as a strategy for peace, I bought a book in the gift shop called Praying in Color: Drawing a New Path to God by Sybil MacBeth. It describes a creative way of praying that I thought might be good for my spiritual life, but also that might be adapted for Circle of the Word.

I tried it out this past Wednesday. I wouldn’t say it was a unqualified success since none of the women offered to talk much about what the process had been like for them. But they all paid close attention to the instructions I gave for getting started. They colored diligently with the new markers I had gotten that were definitely appreciated. While they colored I played a seven-minute piece of music downloaded from iTunes for the occasion.

The music was from an album titled “Call of the Mystic” by Karunesh, a piece called “Hearing You Now.” I thought that was a perfect title given the story was about God “hearing the voice of the boy.” I picked the piece because it was Middle Eastern sounding, meditative, and instrumental (less distracting than vocal would have been).

Shown here are the fruits of my co-Circlekeepers’ praying in color exercise. Our story of the day was “God Saves Hagar” (Gen. 21:8-15) so we started out by creating a space for every character in the story.

If possible I use a talking piece that somehow connects with the story of the day. I always tell the story early in a class, before introducing the talking piece. If the connection is obvious, I ask participants why they think I chose that particular object for a talking piece.  It’s a simple way to get them focused on the story and have an easy success engaging it.

But I had trouble coming up with something for the story of “Sarah Gives Birth” that was an obvious connection. I just didn’t have any baby things around the house.

Then I remembered an eyeglass case I got in Cameroon a few years ago. I have never used it much, but I love it because of the memories of that trip (a biblical storytelling mission) and the wonderful painted design that decorates it: mother with child. Perfect! The soft cloth felt gentle to hold as we passed it around the Circle.