From 2013 until March of 2020 a team of women from Grace United Methodist Church in Dayton, Ohio went to the local county jail on Wednesdays on a rotating basis. We went to jail to engage a circle of women with stories from the biblical tradition in a class we called “Sacred Stories.” In 2017 we also took the stories into a state women’s prison in Dayton, called “Circle of the Word.”
Three years later, the jail opened up to programming again, so on March 15 we returned to begin an eight-week series of stories from Mark’s version of the passion of Jesus and all four Gospel accounts of Jesus’ resurrection. After a recent class the women gave written feedback on something they enjoyed in Sacred Stories that day. Responses included:
- “Gaining more knowledge on Christ and why he died for our sins”
- “Using markers and hearing a story”
- “We got to play the stories out”
- “I enjoyed being Peter”
By presidential decree, April was national Second Chance month, and April 30 was Second Chance Sunday at Grace. Our newest Sacred Story team member, Heidi Arnold (below left), told the parable of “The Father and Two Sons” from Luke 15. Willie Templeton, Montgomery County Jail Chaplain and Program Coordinator (below right), was the guest preacher. And returning citizen Zakaya Bragg (below center) received her certificate for participation in the Sacred Stories class this Spring. It was a very special worship service.
