We were scheduled to start our eight-session series at the women’s prison last Friday. Everything was ready to go and we were there almost on time, but for the second time this summer the Assistant Chaplain forgot and was late. This time we were so late getting down to the chapel that women had come and were long gone to other activities. The Assistant Chaplain tried to round them up again, but only two showed up. So we decided to cancel and start our Fall series in two weeks. Hopefully we haven’t lost the enthusiasm of the women. Time will tell.

We did have a back-up plan, devised in July when we thought we might not have class (but did). We went out for breakfast!

This Fall we will engage the stories from the first chapter of Mark at both the Montgomery County Jail and the Dayton Correctional Institution. The theme of the series is “Telling the Good News: Stories of Mark 1.” This will be the fifth year we have sown seeds of grace among incarcerated women through this series of stories.

Mark begins his gospel by telling its title: “The Beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” The second time we went through this series I told the women about the “ichthus” sign which comes from Mark’s title and was used by early followers of Jesus as a secret symbol. The women readily recognized it as commonly seen on car bumpers, sometimes with a Darwinian twist.

The next year I gave more detail about the ichthus sign. The women were fascinated, so I developed an “About the Story” handout, which we read aloud, Greek and all:

Ichthus (ik-thoos) is the Greek word meaning “fish.” It was used by early followers of Jesus as a secret symbol because in Greek, each letter corresponds to a word from the title of Mark’s Gospel: “…Jesus Christ the Son of God.” The Greek spelling for ichthus is:  These are the first letters of the Greek words Iesous (Iota), Christos (Chi), Theou (Theta), Uios (Upsilon), and Sotor (Sigma). In English, the five Greek words are “Jesus Christ God’s Son Savior.”

Today you see the ichthus symbol on car bumpers, sometimes with a Darwinian twist (feet). These are the first letters of the Greek words Iesous (Iota), Christos (Chi), Theou (Theta), Uios (Upsilon), and Sotor (Sigma). In English, the five Geek words are “Jesus Christ God’s Son Savior.”

I have learned not to underestimate the quest for biblical knowledge inside the jail and prison. And that’s good news, too.