Christmas Musicals for Church
Issue link: https://read.jwpepper.com/i/1182452
8 Change for the Sake of Change: Mission/Outreach Project CGC66 This is what will really make Called something special for the children you work with, as well as for their families. First, I owe a debt of gratitude to the talented writing team of Tom S. Long and Allen Pote. I was fortunate to be at the premiere of their beautiful musical Table for Five…Thousand! (Choristers Guild, © 2009) At one point in the musical, the children came down the aisles with baskets of bread, serving everyone, and breaking down the "fourth wall." This gesture was about so much more than mere entertainment. It was inviting the audience into an active role in the story. It was a gesture that said: "We are more than performers. You are more than an audience. We are all in community with one another." Since then, I have tried to incorporate at least one community-driven element in each musical I've written. Room for Christmas (Choristers Guild, © 2014) had a toy drive. In the Image had a Handmade Parade. And Called has a change drive – Change for the Sake of Change. For the children, this can be a year-long (or semester-long) process. At the first musical rehearsal, give each child a Change for the Sake of Change bin that they can keep at home and fill throughout the year. If some children fill their bins to overflowing, give them a second bin! Challenge them to get the whole family involved. In the days and weeks leading up to the performance(s), communication with the entire church is critical. Advertise it in the bulletin. Announce it in the worship space and in Sunday school classes (kid and adult). Send notes home with families. Use email, posters, whatever it takes! Make sure everyone who comes to see the musical brings as much change as they can. And remember - some people may not be able to come to the performance but will be happy to donate to the cause! Now, about the cause. Each faith community has areas of active mission/outreach engagement. One church may send a mission team to Costa Rica each summer. Another may work locally on a Habitat for Humanity project. At our church, the kids wanted to make the musical a benefit. At one of the mid-year rehearsals, I brought three mission/outreach ideas to the group. We talked about our church's role in each one. Afterwards, the kids voted on where they wanted all their change to go. They chose Food 4 Kids. This ministry equips hundreds of food-insecure school children with enough healthy food to get them through the weekend. The children raised several THOUSAND dollars! They got to experience music as so much more than entertainment. They got to see music as inspiration, as ministry, as a means of doing something powerful in God's world. Allow the children to be part of the process. Give them a voice in determining where the funds will go, and they will collect with so much more passion! And it will send a message clearer than any line in this musical that God will call on any one of us to help those in need.