Surviving the Apocalypse

Well, we did it! Three nights worth of puppet shows adapting Revelation in a single night. It was incredibly rough, we were short by about four puppeteers (requiring a lot of running around and simply holding up the puppet who was speaking, without having a chance to actually get your hand in and move the mouth; my worst moment was juggling the woman clothed in the sun, her male child, the red dragon, AND one of Michael's angels at the same time), but we made it through. Thanks to all who helped, thanks to all who prayed, and a special thanks to Pam, who managed to find and execute a number of key musical cues (what's heaven without music?)!

I'll have more to write as I reflect on this. For now, I have to try to re-organize all my puppet materials and devote those energies to the puppet class I'm teaching for the Center for Hope over the next few weeks. And puppetry may make an appearance in Arts Camp later this summer. (I don't think we will do much with it in VBS, though we'll probably bring back Paolo the Parrot in some form.)

The most discouraging part of our final program was attendance. We had been drawing fewer and fewer kids as the end of the year neared, but based on other closing programs (when we mail out invitations and encourage the kids to bring their whole family), I was anticipating we would have a fair turn-out. We had only six kids. Clearly we need to take some time off (and with some key team members away or otherwise engaged this fall, it is looking like we will have a half-year hiatus for the ministry) and re-evaluate what we are doing and who we are trying to do it for. Hopefully the neighborhood survey we will be conducting this weekend will help us start to analyze what is going on. We shall see...

"Gazing on the stars and walking in the dust"

Several months ago I caught a piece on NPR where they were discussing a comic featuring a pirate with an eye-patch, a peg-leg, and a hook for an arm. Behind this pirate were two other pirates talking about him, and, after reading through several possible captions (which apparently listeners had sent in), the guest gave the official (or winning?) caption of what the one pirate was saying to the other. Pointing to the pirate in front, the one says to the other admiringly, "I could never be HALF the man he is!"

The main character in this upcoming VBS drama is a recurring character from our "Pirates in Paradise" VBS I wrote two years ago. At the conclusion of that storyline, the majority of the pirates voted to quit being pirates, accept the Royal Pardon, and devote themselves to spreading the word that even pirates can be forgiven and make a fresh start. They changed the name of their ship from "The Bloody Gem" to "The Heavenly Pearl," voted off their former captain Harry DuPillage, and elected as their new captain the former first mate, Dick Dead-Eye.

Dick Dead-Eye, as played brilliantly by our Assistant Pastor Ron, was a bit of a buffoon. Instead of a parrot, he had a chicken pinned to his shoulder, and when the children laughed and pointed to it, he pretended not to see, as the chicken was on the side where he wore an eye-patch (and hence, his name "Dead-Eye"). He also had a hook for a hand (though I can't recall which hand it was, and there is a good chance he changed it from day to tday). Elevating Dick to Captain of a missionary ship, and having his experiences parallel those of St. Paul will require some rewriting of the character (which will be somewhat eased by the fact that Ron, unfortunately, is unable to reprise the role, as he will be a real-life missionary in Brazil), but I hope to keep some of his fun-loving spirit intact.

"The one-eyed man still has one good eye," as Mark Heard sings in his song "Schizophrenia" (which focuses on seeing both the good and the bad in life). It seems a bit insensitive in the third person, but those I have known with handicaps of various sorts (including Ron, who lost his tongue to cancer several years ago), seem to be able to look on the brighter side of life and make light of their infirmities (if they are able to cope at all and not fall into bitterness and depression). That is how I imagine Dead-Eye Dick handling his disabilities. There are those who insist on referring to the Captain now as "Richard the Seer" (based on his growing reputation as a Christian leader, church planter, miracle worker, and visionary), but I see him as being a more earthy character who answers to both names. He is appreciative of the fact that he's "still got one good eye" (and one good hand), and he looks forward to the day when he lands on the King's Shore and receives a fully restored body, but in the meantime he gets by best he can, and doesn't pretend to be more than he is.

"Over on the west coast we have Treasure Island"

I was thinking the other day about VBS and the need for female roles in the drama. Pilgrims come in pairs, so of course there will be a female Puritan to help hound our reformed pirates as they try to be missionaries. But I was thinking of other possibilities and remembered reading about Mary Read and Anne Bonny, and I got to thinking of a female pirate. The ex-pirate missionaries first goal was to reach other pirates with word of the Royal Pardon they had all claimed, so I thought on the first day they could take the gospel to some other pirates, and a female pirate could be one of their first converts. Then I tried coming up with a name for this female pirate, and I got to thinking of the book of Acts and Paul's missionary journeys (which is my primary source of inspiration for this venture) and I remembered Paul had a female convert early on in the city of Philippi named Lydia, so a female PIRATE convert might be... LYDIA the TATTOOED LADY!

Delay of the Parousia

It probably surprises no one that my attempt three weeks ago of creating heaven for my puppet theater did not come together in sufficient time. I did make some progress two weeks ago, but only enough to cover the letters to the seven churches (with my translucent Jesus made of pop bottles). Last week we were lacking sufficient puppeteers for what little I had planned to move the story forward, so we are NOW planning on doing the entire book of Revelation (or at least chapters 4-21) in a single night, making our grand finale THE grand finale of all time!

I'm envisioning three scenes (which originally would have been over three separate nights), the first covering the opening scene with a door open in heaven up through the seventh seal and silence for a half an hour (seems like a good place to break). The second scene will begin with the "War in Heaven" (from chapter 12), introducing the Dragon, followed by Beast and False Prophet (I'm hoping to pick up a Pirate puppet, as for years--since reading Zechariah 11--I've pictured this character as a one-eyed, hook-handed man). Having established the Unholy Trinity and their earthly rule, we will back up to the 144,000 being sealed and the trumpet judgments, ending with the Two Witnesses of Chapter 11. The third scene will introduce Mystery Babylon, go through the seven bowl judgments ending in Armageddon, and conclude with Christ's reign, the Great White Throne, and the New Heaven and New Earth. Should be quite a night!

For Tonight's KidzLife Meeting...

Puppets needed:

John the Revelator
Celeste (the eagle)
Benedict
Beatrice
Armond (Roman guard and father to B & B)
Jesus (as described in Rev. 1; still not sure how make him sufficiently bright)
God (either what we used for the Ancient of Days or a really bright light)
Living Creature like a lion
Living Creature like an ox
Living Creature like a man
Living Creature like an eagle
At least 2 of 24 elders (Daniel might work for one)
Azmaveth (angel)
Lamb of God
White Horse and Rider
Red Horse and Rider
Black Horse and Rider
Pale Horse and Riders (Death and Hell)
Martyr
King/Queen

Props & Set Pieces needed:

7 Golden Lampstands & Lamps (got battery operated tealights, but still need holders)
Two-edged sword (coming out of Jesus' mouth ???)
Keys to Hell and Death
Door to Heaven
Thrones for God and Lamb
Rainbow
Thrones for Elders
Crowns, Harps and Bowls for elders
Scroll w/7 Seals
Bow and Crown for White Rider
Sword for Red Rider
Scales for Black Rider
Altar
Sun that turns black
Moon that turns red
Stars that fall


Things wanted for tonight:

Fog machine
Seal puppet (for optional gag line "No, not THAT kind of seal!")
Lighting/Hologram/CGI capability
At least two more weeks to prepare!!!


MOST NEEDED:
Prayer
Sensitivity to the Spirit
Energy & Efficiency
Help with Sewing & Prop-Making
Attentive Children
Coordinated (individually and collectively) Puppeteers
Script