| Is
it a Dolphins football player? An avid golfer?
Nope.
A Sunday Player is a
member of Pine Castle United Methodist Church who gives of his/her time to minister to
fellow members and the community through drama.
We perform as part of the Sunday
morning services (hence the name - in case you haven't figured that out by now), usually
as part of the pastor's sermon. We generally present a skit at least once a month -
sometimes more often - at the request of the worship team. Occasionally we will perform
at other ministry functions when schedules permit.
Our scripts are either written by
one of the Players or we use various public domain scripts available through
Christian publishing houses or other churches.
A Brief History |
Long
time members of PCUMC will remember Shekinah Theatre. Shekinah was
formed in the mid 1980's as the adult drama ministry of the church. At least once a year Shekinah
would present a full length theatrical production. The group staged such hard hitting
Christian productions as "Snapshots and Portraits", "Family Outings",
"No Compromise", and "Catacombs".
"Catacombs" was one of the most complex efforts ever undertaken by the ministry.
It was performed more than a dozen times at churches all over Central Florida. |
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But, although the scripts were hard hitting and the performances first rate, the
attendance at the full length productions didn't quite fill the sanctuary. The shows were
expensive to produce with the costs of building elaborate sets and buying props and
makeup. |
In the mid 1990's
a grand experiment was conducted: "Welcome to the Mustard Seed Cafe". It
was NOT a full length production. It was part of - and in fact took the place of - the
entire Sunday morning service. "Mustard Seed" was presented in a series of
plays, all based on parables. The sanctuary was made up to look like the inside of a cafe.
The congregation and the pastors loved it! It drove home a message of faith
and fellowship that simple words in a sermon could never do.
Around the same time the lives of
people in Shekinah began to change. Long time drama ministry members had
trouble finding enough time to devote to rehearsals due to jobs and family
commitments.
Some even left PCUMC because of job and home relocations. Shekinah
Theatre was effectively disbanded.
But the direction of the drama
ministry soon became obvious. With the success of the "Mustard Seed"
series, the pastors were wanting more and more drama involvement in the Sunday morning
services. They called upon long time Shekinah co-director Michelle Taylor
to put together an ensemble group of actors who could perform 5 minute "skits"
as part of the service to enhance the sermon. The Sunday Players was born.
Compared to Shekinah Theatre,
directing the Players was a lot less time consuming for Michelle and the ministry
members. The skits were relatively short - 5 minutes or under - so line memorization
was no longer a big factor. Usually one night of rehearsals during the week
before a Sunday performance was enough. There were no sets to build or props to buy
- so it didn't cost anything. And to top it off, the audiences were built in and
guaranteed! The sanctuary was always full!
Why didn't we think of this
sooner?? It goes to show you that God lets us know what we need to know, when we
need it!
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