We have been so busy with church related work the past week, being Holy Week, that it is easy just to think of tasks completed as opposed to how things turned out, or what was accomplished.
However, today, as I think back to Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and all the Easter events, I realize that this was possibly one of the best weeks of 2008 so far!
Our church has become very involved with dramas and musicals. We have also incorporated these into our services to an extent that is almost unbelievable compared to just a couple of years ago.
For Maundy Thursday, we had a drama as part of the service, that focused on many of the Biblical characters perspectives of the day, including Pontius Pilate, Peter, Jesus, the Pharisees, etc. We did this as a "reader's theater" type of thing, were the characters were on stage, but reading their perspective. This was nice from a practical standpoint since we so recently did the "Once Upon a Tree" production, which consumed countless hours of effort of many of the same people.
The incredible thing was that the reader's theater was very moving. Each of the people acting in these roles put so much feeling and expression into their parts, that it was easy to forget they were reading their lines out of a script. The lighting was perfect, too. As each character spoke, spotlights illuminated their faces. It was almost as if they appeared out of nowhere.
Additionally, we had a FULL orchestra, which was often playing as a background to the narration. After each segment, the choir would sing a song.
It was incredible.
Then came Good Friday. We did a mini reprise of the appropriate parts of "Once Upon a Tree", with full choir and orchestra - but condensed, and with a VERY memorable ending. We ended the service with Jesus being taken down from the cross and his mother, Mary, singing a song and finally pulling the shroud over his face. This is where the service ended, with Jesus lying, enshrouded, at the base of the cross, as the congregation filed out silently. This was an incredibly moving and memorable ending to the service. I wish I had a photo to share of this...it just seemed somehow inappropriate.
Then came the Easter services. The choir and orchestra was back. The music was spine-tingling and included the "Hallelujah Chorus" from The Messiah. I was running sound for all of these events of the week, and I feel that the work I did mixing the orchestra and choir on Easter was some of my best ever. I credit the orchestra and our director, Dawn Rathmann, and it was a great honor to be able to mix such an incredible group. I knew when I achieved "the mix" because I got chills and tears at the same time! It was incredible to see the same effect on some of the orchestra members faces, too. I am so lucky to have been able to help bring this experience to our congregation members and visitors.
Then, finally, came our contemporary service. My wife, Dianne, puts this service together and as traditional and formal as the other services were, this one was relatively wild and untamed! After mixing all of the orchestra-based services, I had a lot of pent up emotions to let loose and I did let those emotions loose at our contemporary service, playing keyboards and acoustic guitars. Our band is filled with some of the best musicians I have ever heard, much less played with, and it was a thrill to basically jam with them during this service! Although the songs weren't polished, they sure had feeling and it was a rush to play. There is no feeling like playing live and taking chances in the whole world! Additionally, we had kids singing and dancing up front along with our core singers. It was an amazing worship experience.
As if this wasn't enough, my oldest daughter, Rebecca, played a violin solo of "I Know That My Redeemer Lives" at the opening of this service. She did a great job, and got the applause she deserved. She was very nervous playing in public, but it didn't show in her playing. The whole band told her she did a great job, and I am so very proud of her courage and willingness to play! Imagine what you were like when you were twelve and how you would feel playing in front of 400-500 people!
Additionally, Rebecca acted in a drama during the service, and she is really becoming a great actress. After all the musicals and dramas she has been in, this aspect of performance does not make her nervous as all.
Take my pride up another notch!
After the service, we eventually found our way to my sister's house out beyond the "ring of safety" (highway 270 in St. Louis for new readers) and I managed to snap an excellent back-lit photograph of my niece opening some Easter presents. What more could I ask for in a weekend?
Life is good.
