The performance of the embodied word of the prophets changed [the] very lives [of the people of Israel]. This dramatic, physicalized word was not just a thing said or an act committed. At times, dramatizing or physicalizing the word had very real personal consequences and effects. The word of God became housed in the body and very life of the person who delivered it to the people, and affected the prophet….

Let’s bring all this home. What I am pointing out is that drama in scripture actually changed the listener and the presenter. How often is that the case in today’s use of drama? We use it more like a form of entertainment–enjoyed, forgotten, and nonconsequential. Perhaps it’s time to rethink the potential of drama, to move away from entertainment and realize it as a liturgical act that reveals God’s effectual word. Perhaps we should see drama as a form of proclamation or as a human act of prayer or praise: then it would be more than just ‘‘a thing done’’ and become true performance—the form of the word coming through to change the people.

Todd Farley (2008): “Theater in Liturgy as Actio Divina–God’s Self-Performance,” Liturgy, 24:1, pp. 33-39.

The world has a glitz that might last for the evening, but when the arts are mediated by the Holy Spirit, they cease to be mere productions of the human mind and heart. They become revealers of truth. When the Holy Spirit uses a minister in performing of the word, the ensuing drama is not just ‘‘a thing done’’ by an actor; rather, it is what Dr. Charles Bartow of Princeton Seminary refers to as the actio divina, wherein the word ‘‘is intentional and artful, poetic, crafting for itself a work, a dramatic narrative, a story. It is actio divina, God’s self-performance.’’ A performance of ministry is more than just a ‘‘thing done,’’ it is a type of performance which is about the ‘‘form coming through, . . . [not just a performing] putting on an act.’’ The form that comes through is the word. Scripture is full of this type of ‘‘performance.’’

Todd Farley (2008): “Theater in Liturgy as Actio Divina–God’s Self-Performance,” Liturgy, 24:1, pp. 33-39

WHAT:  A Birthday Party for Jesus!

WHEN:  TBA

WHERE:  Also TBA!

WHY:  Jesus loved a party!

Christmas-time can be harried and commercial and just plain crazy and un-merry.  People talk of “dreading the holidays” and “surviving Christmas.” Probably not what God had in mind…. We’ve been given a gift in the church calendar, however, and if we unwrap it and use it, wonder and sensibility and good fun can be had without adding to the incessant hustle and bustle our culture provides.

Christmas is a season–a full twelve days, actually. Have you noticed that much of the harriedness comes in the days before December 25^th–the concerts and office parties, the shopping and entertaining…. All of this happens during Advent–that season of quiet expectancy and hope. Oh, the irony!  December 25^th is the first day of Christmas as far as the church is concerned. The celebration and worship and fun is only just beginning Christmas morning. Think outside the box for how you and your community might more fully celebrate the season after the culture considers it done for the year. When everyone else is packing up the decorations and putting things away, you might just be sending out party invitations….

…for a Birthday Party for Jesus!  This can happen anywhere in the twelve days, of course, but it is especially fitting in conjunction with Epiphany on or around January 6^th. This is when we celebrate The Wise Ones who came from afar bearing gifts for the Christ Child. It is the perfect excuse the gather one last time and hear the story of Christmas and celebrate what it means. For there is a call in the wonder of Christmas–a “now what?” that is asked. Now that we know the story of Jesus, have seen the faithfulness of God, have wondered about those whose story is not told in our sacred texts and our news stories…what will we do? How will we respond? Gathering in our community to serve would certainly be a way to respond and there are any number of ways this can be done–including throwing a Birthday Party for Jesus.

What might a Birthday Party for Jesus include, you ask? Well…cake, for sure!  And a rousing rendition of “Happy Birthday,” of course. And games! And balloons! And PRESENTS! Don’t forget the presents, because they provide a great opportunity to help the larger community in which your faith community resides. Two ideas for presents are included in the narrative “Gifts on a Starry Night”–Birthday Party Bags and/or Welcome Baby Bags. These are presents that the party goers assemble at the party and deliver to the local foodshelf and/or crisis nursery after the frivolities.

Consider a Birthday Party for Jesus this year. We are God’s hands in the world and the old adage that “many hands make light work” is true. Many people and all ages can be involved in this gathering, worship, and service. It could be a starry night to remember!

I’ve seen many kinds of drama ministries doing various kinds of productions (and, as the daughter of a Drama teacher, have been in more than my fair share). But I’m sad to say that I’ve rarely seen it done well (or, indeed, done it well). Unless we have trained actors and huge budgets, it’s difficult for a church to pull off an ambitious or serious work of theater.

So how can we use the dramatic arts in a way which is still meaningful? Is there a unique kind of potential in dramatic works which are knowingly simple, low-budget, self-effacing or even tongue-in-cheek? If Christianity is supposed to be about humility, transparency and authenticity how can we reveal those things by making the most of our less-than-polished presentation? Often the issue with Christian drama isn’t that it’s low budget but that it’s trying to make faith look too pretty or it’s totally devoid of humor or it’s just trying too hard.

Look at how these examples use simplicity, humor, and authenticity. How can you adapt their style for your own dramatic arts endeavors?

To create a feeling of simplicity through set and costume design, flip through Stage It Right: Beautiful, Practical, Theatrical Ideas for On and Off the Stage by Lena Wood and Arian Armstrong (The design of the book is, in itself, inspiring!)

Watch these great examples of Christian sketches which are self-effacing through the use of humor (while still raising some important faith issues like “How present are we when we pray?” and “What is our motivation for kindness?”)

Two movies are being released this Fall which are worth mentioning: Higher Ground and Blue Like Jazz The Movie. They’re note-worthy because they represent, for the first time in my memory, cultural offerings which have a positive approach to faith without presenting it in an overly-simplified or sentimental way. They are more self-aware and more comfortable with complexity, irony and rawness than most Christian drama I’ve seen.

How will your costumes express simplicity? How can your actors communicate that they don’t take themselves too seriously? How will your script deal with both the darkness and the light?

Image © iStockphoto

The character of the Old Testament narratives clearly indicates that narratives are dramas. They are divided into scenes. Each scene contains an important encounter between the main characters (in Israelite storytelling, only two characters converse at any one time). In each scene, third-person narration usually introduces and reinforces the dialogue. The scenes progress in dramatic fashion so that a conflict raised in a first scene develops in the middle scenes and is resolved in a final scene. The conflict always touches upon God’s work in the world, and the story seeks to draw the hearers more fully into that work. In short, narratives as they have come down to us are scripts of Israelite plays. To account for everything a narrative entails in terms of both content and context, we would need a stage of some sort, a gathering of people, and an “actor”–probably only one–who would read the third-person narration and give voice to different characters.

Thomas A. Boogaart, “Drama and the Sacred: Recovering the Dramatic Tradition in Scripture and Worship,” Touching the Altar: The Old Testament for Christian Worship, Carol M. Bechtel, ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2008), pp. 40-41.

“The Stories the Stars Tell” aims to summon forth the stories otherwise missing from our faith narrative.  Through song and story, questions and imaginings, singing and quiet, we wonder about all those in Jesus’ family tree who did not have their story preserved in scripture.  We think also of those in today’s world who do not have a voice, whose story is hushed or hidden, whose history has been lost.  Many of the stories lost are the stories of women and girls.

A new carol was commissioned for this collection with these lost stories in mind.  Written by Neal Hagberg, “Star Girls” is a gorgeous song with an easy melody to use in a worship setting.  This beautiful piece looks back at history and through today’s headlines for the stories not told.  The stories of those whose names will never be known, the people whose choices were not their own, women whose place at the table was forbidden, individuals who did not have a say, faithful persons who spoke of God in new ways and knew the price they’d pay….  These are the stories that form the basis of this original song.

Hagberg posits in his lyrics that the ignored and hushed are precisely the people who keep the faith in hopes the next generation would find a better way.  These, too, are the shining stars on Jesus’ family tree. But we have to look for them.  They have not been allowed the sparkle of the hero’s stories or the star naming and gazing of generations upon generations.

Here are a couple of verses from Hagberg’s “Star Girls” lyrics that speak to the silence of the past and the hope for the future:

All of the girls who raised their children up well

All of the girls who rose each time they fell

All of the girls who work for the coming new day

All of the girls who knew the price they would pay

 

All of the girls who somehow still kept the faith

That all of their girls would find a much better way

You are the stars, You are the stars without words

I believe someday your voice will be heard.

In this collection, we call forth stories like these and then add them back in to the one we know better; for these, too, are the ones for whom Jesus came.

Listen to “Star Girls” Song Sample

(The Revelation of Jesus Christ: A Staged Reading is located in the Worship Texts/Dramas section of the Clayfire collection, “Discipleship for the Real World.”  Included with the reading are detailed performance notes for casting and staging. It is available for local use with a subscription to Clayfire.org.)

The Revelation is a casebook of visionary excess… [but] also an ordinary human vessel, a letter meant to be read aloud. It begins and ends with a blessing upon those who read it to others, and those who hear and heed it.

This is a poet’s book, which is probably the best argument for reclaiming it from fundamentalists. It doesn’t tell, it shows, over and over again, its images unfolding, pushing hard against the limits of language and metaphor, engaging the listener in a tale that has the satisfying yet unsettling logic of a dream.

Kathleen Norris, Revelation (Pocket Canon), pp. vii, viii & ix

The Revelation of Jesus Christ: A Stage Reading began with a sermon series. My pastor, Darrell Johnson, had decided that he wanted to share this book about “discipleship on the edge” with his congregation, and it being the year 1999 and end-times all the rage, he figured he could get away with it. This wasn’t any normal little series, however – it was 32 weeks of intense theological digging into perhaps the most deep, poetic and misunderstood book of the Bible.

After each week’s service, I would go home and meditate on the scripture which had been presented. As usually happens when I hear scripture read aloud, I began to hear different voices reading it with varying inflection and interpretation. I considered how the words may be presented by not just one, but multiple readers. The very beginning of the book states quite plainly that the words are “meant to be read aloud.”  This book, which as a child I’d read during boring sermons for sensational entertainment, turned out to be an epic poem which was intended by its author to be read to others. Not turned into cheap fiction, not made into bad movies. It was a letter from one disciple to others, and originally would have been read aloud to the congregations mentioned therein as well as many others. Why couldn’t we, today, have the same experience – the original intent?

Of course, to hear these words as simply a beautiful poem or a sensational story is not wrong – the art of the book is part of what makes it so special. But going deeper within the text adds a new dimension of understanding to the much-maligned familiar scenes taking place in the spiritual dimension. Simply put, the further one dives into this book, and the more one understands its true meaning and intent to change our lives, the more one will enjoy this staged reading. Indeed, I wish that all audiences of the piece would learn the theology behind what they are hearing. Thus, I was delighted that the first performance of TRoJC concluded the sermon series mentioned above. It was a perfect ending to a year of intense study and debate, for everyone listening could recall how the verses they were hearing had been unpacked and wrestled with. It brought back the truths we had discovered together, while at the same time reminding us all that, in the end, the book is an amazing work of art.

Download an excerpt of The Revelation of Jesus Christ: A Staged Reading.

© Anastasia McAteer

Anastasia McAteer is a freelance writer and liturgical consultant. She holds a Master of Divinity with a concentration in Worship, Theology and the Arts from Fuller Theological Seminary, and has done doctoral work in Liturgical Studies at the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley. She authored the popular blog Feminary while at Fuller. Stasi has also written a variety of worship resources for local use and national publications. Her essay “Exorcising the Spirit” is included in Jesus Girls: True Tales of Growing Up Female and Evangelical (Cascade Books, 2009). Stasi is married to John and their two children, Maggie and Kieran, help her fulfill her priestly calling on a daily basis.

Date: September 18, 2011

Time: 10:00 am

Location: 5265 “H” Street, Sacramento, CA, USA

Church: The Table United Methodist Church

Event: Reach In Love for AIDS/HIV research

Caption: The Table is a new community of faith being birthed in Sacramento, CA. On Sunday, September 18, 2011 this community joined others in Sacramento to Reach In Love for AIDS/HIV research as they ran/walked the AIDS 5K Run. This was The Table’s first communal act and shirts were made for the occasion. Here is one of the teenagers, who finished 19th overall, taking a rest outside the doors of the sanctuary a few moments before worship.

Photo © Linda Dew-Hiersoux

Send us the view from YOUR pew. We’re looking for images of your community at worship. Some more examples here. Submit yours here.

Drama can be a powerful way to embody stories in worship. A well-executed scene can help people experience the message through every emotion from laughter to tears. Using drama effectively is increasingly difficult in an emerging culture that rejects any form of phoniness. If your themes are established well ahead of time, you can probably find or develop writers to come up with creative dramas that avoid the formulaic feel that many “worship skits” have. Moralistic skits and those that give simple answers don’t work. Realistic dramas of five to seven minutes in length with minimal backdrops and props are most compelling. Remember, good drama can be very good, and bad drama can be very bad. No drama is always better than poorly done drama. If you do not have the gifts and resources to do drama well, then wait until you do.

Bob Rognlien. Experiential Worship: Encountering God with Heart, Soul, Mind, and Strength (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2005), p. 136.

My husband and I were married at Christmas and we received dozens if not thousands of beautiful ornaments tied to our wedding gifts. It is a treat to decorate our Christmas tree each year, remembering who gave us this angel and that crèche, this star and that small stocking.  But I’ve yearned for a tree decorated only in paper stars. Each year I mention this possibility, and each year I’m voted down by the others in my family–rightly so, we love our ornaments too much to let them sit in their boxes through Christmas!

So…I made a star-covered tree for our worship space at church instead. With the children in our community, I told the story of God’s promise to Sarah and Abraham and traced their family tree with stories of the Biblical heroes and heroines. Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and his wives, Joseph and his brothers, the prophets and judges, queens and kings, rebels and saints….  As we mentioned each name and told their story, we hung a gold paper star on a large otherwise undecorated Christmas tree at the front of the worship space. We started at the bottom of the tree with Sarah’s and Abraham’s stars. When the children could no longer reach to hang their descendants’ stars, I hung them as we told the stories together.

We made our way into the New Testament–Elizabeth and Zechariah, Mary and Joseph–and now we were at the top of the tree! And past my reach; yet, our story was not done and the children knew exactly whose star came next. So a little boy named Charlie volunteered his Dad who lifted him above his head to put the final gold paper star on the tree–a big one with the name ‘Jesus’ on it. The crowning glory of our Christmas Tree, which became in our stories, Jesus’ Family Tree!

The magic of that Christmas will be remembered for a long time in that congregation. Little Charlie hoisted in the air, proudly putting Jesus’ star at the top of a tree of stars–it doesn’t get much better than that! It was a holy moment, for sure.

That is what I’ve tried to recreate in this Christmas collection–holy moments. The stars tell us stories and the stories that make up Jesus’ family tree are rich indeed. Take the time to tell the whole story this Christmas. It isn’t difficult to do, and it makes the story of Jesus’ birth so much more meaningful. Let the stars tell the story. And let the children help.