DIY Easter

What are you doing for Easter this year. For many families this season is heartily anticipated. There is a 40 day period of preparation called Lent; then comes Palm Sunday when people begin to remember Jesus’ last week on earth; and finally there is the weekend with Maundy Thursday (Passover), Good Friday, and Resurrection Day. Churches prepare huge celebrations, dramas, cantatas, and special services (which will be remote this year). People purchase Sunday clothing, plan Easter Egg Hunts, and large family gatherings. BUT ...

This is the year that everything External will be different. There will be no large community gatherings because of the COVID-19 epidemic. We must stay home. So what will Easter be like? Perhaps, in its own way, for one year, better, because, if we will, we can focus on the internal meaning rather than the external events.

So, what is Easter? Is it the clothing, the chocolates, the choir specials, or the crowds? Not really! Easter celebrates the atoning death and the surprising resurrection of Jesus. Easter celebrates LIFE (not life with gusto, which only distracts us from real life - but LIFE that connects with God and goodness). So, what will you be doing this Easter?

It is time for a do it yourself Easter.

How can you do that? Plan! If you have children, here is a recommendation. Purchase a Kindle version of the book “The Case of the Missing Body.” (It is 99￠, hope that does not break the bank!) It contains a nine act play, and some added stories and facts. Most of the acts only require 2-4 actors, and are written so children can understand. Pass the book around, and read the parts. Then talk about how each scene fits into the larger Easter story.

Order this book today on Amazon.com

Children learn by doing … not by sitting in a church service. This play is doing! Your family will greatly benefit if you will spend the hour you normally spend in church, reading through this play. Don’t fight the system, don’t mourn the loss of normal … just do something different, and you will be glad you did! (And talk about it for years!)

The book is on Amazon.com - click here!

This Easter is a great time for something different! A great time for DIY, with help, of course. So try it out.

And please pass this idea on, so others can enjoy Easter, wrapped in its full meaning also.

The Missing Body of Jesus

Drama is a unique format which can be used to bring stories of the Bible to life and to perk the imagination of all people from children to Senior Adults. The Case of the Missing Body is a play which envelops the audience into the set. Rather than sitting on the sidelines, the spectators become cast members and therefore, part of the action.

In this mystery thriller  an audience of total strangers
goes in search of a body which is missing from a tomb
The Body of Jesus must be found!!

My first experience with such a drama was at Second Presbyterian Church in Kansas City, where my family and I had the opportunity to attend a walk-through drama entitled “Journey to Bethlehem.’ I enjoyed the play so much, I enlisted the youth of my church to produce the play at Salem Baptist Church in Apex, NC. The people of Apex caught the vision for this experiential drama, and have produced it annually for twenty years. This type of drama has spread across the country, because it helps people experience Bible stories personally.

The setting opens with a marketplace
Merchants are selling wares and animals

Many years ago, I shared the drama with my current church in Mooresville, NC. We shared the Journey to Bethlehem for several years, until our choir developed such a large musical that it strained our personnel and he asked me to do the play at Easter rather than Christmas.

Pontius Pilate has called in his soldiers
He has called in the High Priest
The body of Jesus is missing
It must be found!!

I tried to adapt the “Journey to Bethlehem” for Easter, but it would not work. Something new needed to be created, and I was not sure how to write a play. That was until I make a trip to Denver, and on the airplane the thought came to me of how to create a walk-through drama for Easter. By the end of the trip I had written The Case of the Missing Body: A Walk-Thru Drama for Easter, .a walk-through drama for Easter that follows the same style as the program for Christmas.

The Donkey farmer asks:
How did the cross appear on my animals back?

Instead of finding the baby laying in a manger we find the crucified Lord who is risen from the dead. Along the way travelers (the audience) meets Pontius Pilate, centurions, the High Priest, tax collectors such as Matthew and Zacchaeus, the women who are preparing spices in the Upper Room, dancers, a donkey farmer, Nicodemus and angels. We produced this play for several years at Peninsula Baptist Church.

The grave is empty except for the angels who announce:
"He is not here! He has risen!"

I have now published the play in kindle format where it is available for less than a dollar because I want to share the idea. Please help me spread the word! This book contains the drama, and much more. I have included directions for the director, scene settings, and stories to help the cast get into character.

Jesus is risen indeed and speaks to the audience in the Garden

The skit itself is short, and would make a great read for Easter. IIt can be read through Amazon Prime for free. The book contains much more than just the play. The scene instructions for actors include details about the real people we read about in the Bible.