The benefits of puppetry in Family Church ministry
Opinion: Letters to the editor
In the fall of 2018 Michael Thomas and a family, all members of Forest Park Baptist Church, heard a devotional, read through a script, practiced the blocking of puppets and proceeded to shoot a video of a puppet play all within five hours. The video will be shared during a Church Service at Forest Park Baptist Church. The benefits of this kind of ministry are obvious.
The simple performance of puppetry is immersive. The puppet play "Faith of a Son" takes places during the Christmas Story. The settings and the clothing of the characters were all researched. Some of the lines of the play are taken directly from the King James bible account of the Birth of Christ. The family who performed the play had to think and react like the characters in the Christmas narrative. The experience of Christmas became immersive. The immersion in the performance of these play reflects the immersion of the Christian walk in Christ.
A puppetry ministry like this fits well in a family's busy schedule. As mentioned earlier, the performance and recording of this drama was accomplished within five hours. The realization of this drama dovetailed with the participant's demands of work and school. This integration with day to day life reflects the integration of the holy in the day to day life.
Finally the use of puppetry brings an immediacy to this Christian ministry. The performance demands a harmony between word and action. The puppets and backdrops bring immediate representations of the characters and locations of the Christmas Story. The Christmas narrative itself includes the immediacy of giving birth to a child, the search of the wise men for the king, and the revelation of God incarnate who is Jesus Christ. All this reflects the immediacy and self evidence of Christ in the Chrisian's Life.
The video made during this ministry will be presented for the first time as part of the 10:45 Church Service at Forest Park Baptist Church on Sunday, December 9, 2018.
Michael Thomas
Forest Park resident
Love the Review?
Become our partner in independent community journalism
Thanks for turning to Forest Park Review and ForestParkReview.com. We love our thousands of digital-only readers. Now though we're asking you to partner up in paying for our reporters and photographers who report this news. It had to happen, right?
On the plus side, we're giving you a simple way, and a better reason, to join in. We're now a non-profit -- Growing Community Media -- so your donation is tax deductible. And signing up for a monthly donation, or making a one-time donation, is fast and easy.
No threats from us. The news will be here. No paywalls or article countdowns. We're counting on an exquisite mix of civic enlightenment and mild shaming. Sort of like public radio.
Claim your bragging rights. Become a digital member.
Reader Comments
No Comments - Add Your Comment
Note: This page requires you to login with Facebook to comment.
Facebook Connect
Community Guide 2019 - 2020
To view the full print edition of the Forest Park Review 2019 - 2020 Community Guide, please click here. |
Quick Links
Sign-up to get the latest news updates for Forest Park. | |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | |
Subscribe | Classified |
Multimedia | Contact us |
Submit Letter To The Editor | |
Place a Classified Ad |
Latest Comments
What a great thing to do for our Veterans. I live a...
By Leonard De Joy
Posted: December 5th, 2019 8:50 PM
I think I'm just going to sit back, make some...
By Geoff Binns-Calvey
Posted: December 5th, 2019 5:31 PM
Steve is living in an alternate universe if he thinks...
By Michelle Woehrle
Posted: December 4th, 2019 9:35 AM
Well I find it interesting that it took this long to...
By Jerry Webster
Posted: December 3rd, 2019 6:34 PM
This is fantastic! Great work and congratulations to...
By Tom Galassini
Posted: November 29th, 2019 1:24 PM
Wow what a great story. I opened my boutique early...
By Tami Yarbrough
Posted: November 28th, 2019 3:21 PM
Wow i was really hurt to hear of Karen death i...
By Don Rocco Pruitt
Posted: November 27th, 2019 8:41 PM
I was deeply saddened to recently discover of dear...
By Lester Nixon
Posted: November 27th, 2019 7:43 PM