Liturgical Theater

[JonInIowaCity]

I'm curious if any of you have used theater to craft any or all of your Sunday worship service, of if you've ever witnessed this?

I've helped our kids do a Manager production in the past, and we've done small skits related to the annual Stewardship drive.  But I'm toying with crafting an entire play that would actually be our Sunday service.  My son has expressed some interest in doing it and we could recruit a few people if needed. My thought is that, if it worked out good enough, that we could do a variation of this 2-4 times yearly and hopefully others would enjoy it enough to help with playing roles and fleshing out fresh perspective on Biblical messages.

Here's what I was thinking of.  We would choose and adapt a familiar story (maybe the Good Samaritan or maybe Balaam's Donkey). We would would re-work the story a bit (or maybe not too much) and break it out into two or three scenes.  Our scripture reading would be placed between scenes and likely would be a straight reading of what we're adapting.  Hymns would also reflect back to the adapted scripture.

I dunno.  What would you all think if you showed up to church and found your traditional service replaced by something like this (assuming that the acting and storyline was more good than bad of course )?

[ArthurStone]

I have many times, but a word to the wise, if the congregation is not used to it, once a year is enough.

But small bits can be used all the time.  Last Sunday for a stewardship moment we dressed 3 kids up as a $1 bill talking to a $20 bill talking in an offering plate about why the $20 bill did not come to church more often.  It was quite funny.  Especially at the end when both passed out when they say a $100 bill.

This Sunday, I have written a longer dramatic reading for our stewardship presentation around the theme of gratitude.

So do it once and then gett feed back from all segments from the congregation.  I suspect that all will like it as long as they do not have to give up the usual standard worship service that they enjoy.

[CindiK]

The last church I was at replaced the sermon with theater several times a year, but never (to my recollection) the entirety of worship.