Monthly Archives: April 2017

Circle of the Word at DCI

Three of us from Grace United Methodist Church are ready to begin a Circle of the Word at Dayton Correctional Institution (DCI). This is a state women’s prison in Dayton, Ohio. We have completed our training and await approval of our applications for volunteering there. The plan is to lead a Circle on the second and fourth Friday mornings of the month. The theme for the first series, hopefully May-June, will be “Love Your Enemies” which was the #1 pick (out of 12 themes) by women at the county jail circle. Flyers will be posted around the DCI campus to promote the program.

A Breath of Fresh Air

A Breath of Fresh Air: Biblical Storytelling with Prisoners is now published and available from Wipf and Stock Publishers. I received a copy a week ago. This is me with my book, standing in my kitchen, right after I brought it in from the mailbox.

My book references this Circle of the Word website. Here is a description from Wipf and Stock:

Breath of Fresh Air: Biblical Storytelling with Prisoners challenges the behemoth of mass incarceration through the convergence of biblical storytelling pedagogy, restorative justice principles, and peacemaking circle structure. Circle of the Word is an interactive, creative process of engagement with biblical stories. It is a spiritual intervention that addresses an American criminal justice system that is retributive, discriminatory, and out of control. Boomershine reports on the impact of Circle of the Word for incarcerated men and women and grounds Circle of the Word in a multifaceted foundation: the study of the Bible as performance literature, the history of prison reform in Enlightenment England, the doctrine of the Word of God, and the development-of-hope theory. Since the purpose of the book is both advocacy and empowerment, a how-to chapter is included with details for implementation. Participation in Circle of the Word has proven to be a transformative experience for men and women directly impacted by mass incarceration–discovering community in the midst of isolation and hope in the midst of despair.

Biblical Storytelling Evangelism One-on-One

I visited a woman in jail who had been on trial for a serious crime. She had just accepted a plea bargain. She’d been in jail since last summer and attending my biblical storytelling “Circle of the Word” since December, including seven weeks of stories from Jesus’ passion and death. She had missed class when we engaged the resurrection story because of being on trial.

I knew she needed that resurrection story and asked her if she wanted to hear it. She said, “Oh yes” as her eyes filled with tears. So I told it to her. She listened with head bowed, eyes closed, like the words were washing over her. Then I talked through the story, adding some information about it as I had done in Circle with the “About the Story” handout.

This is a woman who grew up in the church and knows the stories well. But she needed a reminder of what God has done for her so she would know she was loved no matter what. Hearing the words of the story “live” from another person helped her to experience that love. For me it was also an experience of the power of the Gospel (“good story”) of Jesus to convey divine presence and love.

Evangelism happens whenever we tell another person about grace—God’s unconditional love for them. Sometimes a person has never heard about God’s unconditional love. Sometimes a person never heard that message, even if they have attended church. And all of us need regular reminders.