In the second plenary session, comic book author Wesley Sun spoke about not only comics but prison ministry and board games. In a story he saved until the very end, Sun shared his experience of encountering a version of Monopoly that had been customized by inmates in a prison in the Chicago area. They had not just added the “L” train and substituted their neighborhoods for the ones pre-printed on the board. They had added a “jail” area in the center, in which you didn’t just wait for time to pass, but as you were in there you continued to move around a smaller board, on which you typically landed on squares that involved paying money (e.g. to one’s lawyer). Rev. Jordan Ware participated via Zoom, and Benjamin Wallis of the Priest Pulse Podcast moderated.
Here is a video that was shown in the session mentioned above, about playing Role Playing Games in prison:
In one of the breakout sessions I attended, academics from Howard University spoke about the different depictions of people of color in the writings of Octavia Butler and Stephen King, with some comparison with the way outsiders are depicted in biblical narrative. I went mostly out of interest in Butler, not having read much King, and so was disappointed that the focus was much more on the latter. But even so it was a very engaging session!
Since this was the first ever ΘeoCon, the final session sought feedback on the experience of attendees and suggestions for next time. Rev. Betsy Gonzalez of the Popping Collars Podcast led the feedback and reflection session.
A final bit of celebration of cosplay and geeky t-shirts was called for before wrapping up:
Click for still more photos from the first ever ΘeoCon!
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