Interesting, last time I posted was the first session of the Forgiveness series–at the prison with 14 women participating–and this time I’m posting it’s the last session of the Forgiveness series–at the jail with 14 women. (We finished at the prison last Friday.) Our last story was the story from Acts 16 of Paul and Silas getting thrown into the innermost cell of a prison, praying and singing at midnight with everyone listening, an earthquake opening up the doors and loosening everyone’s chains, the panicked jailer, and the Word of God being spoken to him and to everyone in his household.

Not too many of the women knew this great story, but they are definitely familiar with it now. The “About the Story” doc I created and we read-around included a paragraph on shackling. And in that paragraph I wrote about the First Step Act that might be voted on in Congress–how it would end the practice of shackling pregnant women when they go to give birth, and also end the practice of indiscriminant shackling of youth, at least in federal prisons. And yesterday they voted and passed the act into law! It’s not everything it should be, but it is at least a “first step.” A small miracle that anything got done remotely useful in the current political mess.

There was intense listening to the story as I told it, starting with Paul and Silas meeting the slave woman, followed by a lively repeat-after-me (words AND actions) group telling of the story. We quieted down while listening to my co-Circlekeeper’s meditative reading of the story, followed by thoughtful Word-I-Heard responses. We enjoyed listening to “Shackles” by Mary Mary, which was inspired by this story, and we listened to a Celtic sung version of the Lord’s prayer as we contemplated what shackles we each needed removed.

We closed with singing and signing “Go Now in Peace” in unison and then as a round. It was a good ending to a powerful series of stories on the theme of Forgiveness.

We began a new series of Circle of the Word at the prison on August 24. Fourteen women came, though not all at the same time. There was more coming and going than I’ve ever experienced, largely because the Chaplain was getting them there. It was disruptive, but I decided to just go with the flow and that worked fine. Another distinctive thing about that session was that four women told the story to the whole group. I don’t think I’ve EVER had someone volunteer to do that at the prison.

The theme for this Fall, all the way up to January is “Forgiveness: Stories from the Gospels and Acts.” We’ll be starting the same theme at the jail this Wednesday. We’ll do a few more stories at the jail, because we go there every week, while at the prison we can only go twice a month. Space is a major issue at the prison and twice a month was all I could get.

The idea for this theme came after a Circle of the Word at my church. We have a monthly COW for anybody (don’t have to be a returning citizen though that was one of the motivations for starting it). In that COW, which started in January this year, our stories have been inspired by The Book of Joy. I pick a story that relates to one of the eight “pillars of joy” identified in the book. The pillar for July was forgiveness.

I found a book on my bookshelf entitled Seventy Times Seven, which was very helpful in planning that outside COW. Then I found another entitled simply Forgiveness. I read it and was profoundly impacted by it. As I read it I thought, this would be good for anyone, but especially for people who are incarcerated.

So I asked the prison chaplain what she thought of the idea of “Forgiveness” for a COW theme. She thought it was a very good idea, because many women have such difficulty forgiving themselves (their wrong-doing being always “in their face”) and also because so many of them have been abused and need help forgiving their abusers so they can gain some peace.

I wanted to know more about the author, Robin Casarjian. A search led me to Lionheart Foundation, which among other things promotes her book “Houses of Healing.” This is a more recent book than Forgiveness and was written specifically for people who are incarcerated! There is a whole curriculum which I would like to try. We’ll see if that is possible. In the meantime, it’s informing my planning for COW at the prison and jail.

I close each Circle of the Word standing in a circle with a simple song of blessing: “Go Now in Peace,” composed by Natalie Sleeth in 1975. I teach a few American Sign Language signs to accompany it. After demonstrating the words and their signs, we sing it twice–once slowly so the group can get the hang of it, then with increased tempo and volume for energy. Often we join hands and conclude with prayer.

I have been somewhat surprised how readily both men and women learn and enjoy this prayer song with the signs. After a few sessions at a state prison where I led Circles five years ago, the men told me with pleasure how they would sing it during the day going various places, like to the showers. We all had a good laugh at that.

Recently a man who was in that group, and has since returned to the community, came to my house for lunch after church. As we were finishing our meal, he asked about that song which we then sang. We laughed again, remembering how it was enjoyed back then and there.

Last Christmas I led a “Blue Christmas” service for women in one of the pods at the local jail. It was not a Circle of the Word; there were too many for that. I did tell the story of Jesus’ birth from the Gospel of Luke. We concluded the service by forming a big circle and singing, with signs, “Go Now in Peace.”

After we sang it through, one of the other worship leaders, a high school music teacher from my church, asked, “Shall we try it as a round?” We agreed to try, so she led us in a 2-part round quite successfully. Then she asked, “Shall we try it as a 4-part round?” With new-found confidence in our musical abilities we answered, “Sure!” And we did. It was beautiful and extraordinary. The spirit of Christmas was present and active among us.

Click on my picture to learn the signs.

Learn signs for “Go Now in Peace”

Visit hymnary.org for info on the lyrics, tune, and hymnals where it is included (there are 17).

For more about closing activities for Circle of the Word, visit the Winding Up page of this site.

Go now in peace,
Amelia

Before our summer break, I asked the women in Sacred Stories (what we call Circle of the Word in jail) to complete a survey form for feedback on the class. This was in mid-April, at the conclusion of our Lenten-Easter series, “Journey to Resurrection: Stories from Mark 14-16.” The following are anonymous responses by the 12 women in class that day…

Here is what I would tell others about this class:

• A very beautiful class that helps teach us more about the Word of God.
• We break down parts of stories of the Bible to understand them better.
• The ladies are very serious and they know how to help you learn and remember the stories.
• What I tell others is: “Nothing but good”
• It’s very nice and easy-flowing. I like how it makes it simpler to understand.”
• It’s a great class; others need to come.
• Definitely would go. It’s a good class.
• To really just participate and listen. There is many resources and things to learn Amelia is a wonderful Lady and I appreciate her and this class.
• The story, the love and care Amelia has for us girls. The love she shows and how she reminds me, myself, to Keep moving, be positive, be positive, God is with us Always!
• It’s a good class. It teaches a lot about God. You take it step-by-step and I like that you break it down to understand.”
• It opens your mind and heart to Jesus.
• I truly appreciate you coming and spending time with us today.

As you can tell from this feedback, Sacred Stories, and those of us who lead it, are very much appreciated. Not only do we receive heartfelt appreciation, but also the gift of their insights, perspectives, and faith.

Lydia Grace, eight days old, on her patio in Tucson with Grandma

I’ve been out of commission since mid-April, attending to the birth of my youngest daughter’s first child. The newborn was eight days old when I held her in the courtyard of her Tucson home.

Her name is Lydia Grace. Her moms named her “Lydia” for one of the first Gentile Christians. Lydia was a strong, independent, Greek business woman, “a dealer in purple cloth.” They named her “Grace” because Grace is a family name on both sides. Besides, in Christian tradition, grace is a gift of God’s love, and this precious infant is most definitely a divine gift in all our lives.

I’m relearning the story of the ancient Lydia to tell to my little Lydia Grace the next time I travel to Tucson. I hope for her, as for all her generation, a world more reflective of Jesus’ way of peace. That is a primary reason I learn, tell, and teach the stories of God.

One of the hardest realities for incarcerated women is separation from their children. They bear this grief as best they can (sometimes, I think, by toughening their hearts) but it is ever-present. When I look at this photo I yearn to hold Lydia Grace again before she grows another day older. I feel sadness that holding her right now is not possible. She lives in Arizona and I live in Ohio. We’re three time zones apart.

So for all of us who are separated from beloved children—whether by bars, razor wire, distance, or immigration policy—a prayer:

Creator God, who blesses the world with new life and new possibility every time a child is born, grant us comfort and understanding while we are separated from them.

Holy Spirit, who is present with each child born, inspire us with your wisdom to gently support the adults caring for them.

Rabbi Jesus, who embraced little children and recognized their value, teach us to tell your stories to our children: over the phone, on a video call, during a visit, or when re-united.

Amen and amen.

I have taught the resurrection story from Mark quite a few times, but until this Lent/Easter season I have never had anyone choose “a big stone” for the word or phrase that especially got their attention when listening to the story. I have always liked that part of the story because I can always hear someone I love telling about that big stone with energetic delight. So I took special notice when the Circle participant name it.

Round #2 of the “Word I Heard” story-listening activity gives Circle members the opportunity to tell why they picked the word or phrase they picked in round #1. The woman who claimed “a big stone” as her phrase gave a beautiful testimony about how the stone was like the burdens we bear. The grieving women wondered how they would handle it. How will we move the burdens off our lives? But when they reached the tomb, they found that it was already rolled away! That’s what Jesus can do for us: roll away our burdens.

Storyboard for “The Sentence” Mark 15:6-15

This mixed media storyboard for “The Sentence” is pretty amazing, if for no other reason than that it was created in so little time. The four episodes are depicted in contemporary criminal justice jargon.

After the creator told the story using a dynamic equivalent translation of contemporary criminal justice jargon, she wrote the key words out for me to share below the story, which is on the other side of the storyboard doc as shown in the graphic below.

F2=Felony of the 2nd degree, which includes attempted murder (Jesus was in prison with those who committed murder during the insurrection)

Testify CI=Criminal Informant, which is someone who testifies against you (the chief priests accused Jesus of many things)

OR=Own Recognizance, when we are released (Barabbas was released)

Innocent=when we are wrongly accused (as was the case with Jesus and Pilate knew it but sentenced him to death anyway).

Contraband: “Goods that have been imported or exported illegally; trade in smuggled goods” (Oxford English Dictionary).

I hadn’t heard the word used for years, until I started hanging around prisons. “Contraband” is in common use there, referring to any of a wide range of prohibited items brought in without permission. Guns, drugs, and explosives (duh), but also cameras, cigarettes, and cell phones.

We were reminded about the cell phone prohibition the hard way when one of us inadvertently forgot she had her cell phone in her pocket. That resulted in an “incident report” being filed by a zealous corrections officer.

To be fair, the prison had had a rash of contraband issues involving cell phones and the C.O.’s responsible for entrance procedures were on notice to be extra rigorous enforcing the rules. Contraband is taken very seriously, not a laughing matter.

Although contraband is not ordinarily a humorous topic, the Word of God can lighten up the most dreary of topics. I think it was during a Circle in December that this happened at the prison.

We meet in the chapel. The woman sitting next to me in Circle had a cup of water with her, on the floor next to her chair. At some point she knocked it over and spilled the water, apologizing profusely. No big deal, except I had forgotten the tissues that day. I looked around for something to dab up the water, and there was a roll of toilet paper conveniently placed on a table near the pulpit (I assume to function as tissues for tears and runny noses). That did the job and we went on with our story-learning activities.

A while later the cup again got tipped over with the same result. Again I looked around for something to soak up the water. Where was that handy toilet paper? Then one of the women said, “Ms. Amelia, it’s in your bag.” Another woman teased, “Ms. Amelia, are you trying to sneak that toilet paper outta here?” “Now, how did that get in my bag?!” I said innocently.

My tune changed to one of gratitude. “Whew, thanks for telling me.” They had saved me from committing reverse contraband.