There are four “canonical” gospels in the Bible. While Matthew and Luke are the only gospels to tell the story of Jesus’ birth, their stories are very different from one another.
Our play opens as Matt & Lucy volunteer to help with this year’s Christmas pageant. Little do they know that the Director will give them each a different script and leave them to work out how to put on a play with conflicting story lines, characters, and settings.
As the play ends, the Director explains how having two stories gives us an appreciation of the diversity of ways early Christians expressed their understanding of who Jesus was.
Program
Matt & Lucy’s Version Births can be as simple or elaborate as you decide. There are four speaking parts for youth and seven delightfully singable songs for young children (aged 3 and up). The LtQ Equip-kit includes two CDs: a TRAX music CD containing separate instrumental and vocal tracks of the seven musical selections, and a CD-ROM with printable pdf files of the script, production notes and lead sheets (arrangements) of the songs.
“This is a fabulous script. We adapted it by dividing up Matt and Lucy’s lines between about 6 other theater staff to create more speaking roles. It was convenient that the theater people could rehearse separately from the choir. We had choir members play the character roles. The theology was outstanding, and meaningful to the kids as well as the adult audience. The rhythm of songs and spoken lines kept it all interesting. Our audience clapped after each song, which gave us lots of time for transitions. This script format is really a masterwork, and we look forward to more productions like this. Thank you very, very, much.”
Sue Ellen Braunlin at First Congregational UCC, Indianapolis
“Dear LTQ, We did Matt and Lucy’s Version Births yesterday at church. Parents and my senior minister agree that it was the best program the church has ever produced. The script was clever, the kids loved the songs, it was very easy to put together, and the parents were proud as could be. Thanks for making our holiday program great!”
Dan Rodriguez Schlorff, Director of Religious Education, Bradford Community Church Unitarian Universalist
Kenosha, WI
“We absolutely loved this program. Traditionally the Church School would hold a “Christmas pageant” after lunch on the Sunday before Christmas, followed by an all-church party. We decided what “Matt and Lucy’s Version Births” had to say was too important for anyone to miss: our children took over the sermon slot so that everyone could hear. We have a tiny, but enthusiastic, Church School – in fact we used the large puppets the young people had created for telling other stories in church, as the holy family, to help us out when one family of several children could not attend at the last minute. The songs are catchy and fun. The backing music is provided. It does not take memorization so much as stage directions, and those are not complicated. The message fits our preaching and it opened doors to encourage people, once again, to our Living the Questions stable studies. Thank you!”
Janet Douglass, Assistant Pastor, Christ Church, United Methodist, Troy, NY
“I’m so grateful for Living the Questions. These progressive voices offer less rigid and more expansive approaches to Christian faith, and make room for people who practice critical thinking and question the gatekeepers. They help us see that questioning the gatekeepers is exactly what Jesus was all about.”
— Brian McLaren, author of A New Kind of Christianity
“This has been sorely needed for years. Felten and Procter-Murphy provide an unusual clarity about the issues that commonly confuse and divide people in our churches today and then open a pathway to a more vital and even exciting way to approach the Christian faith in the 21st century.”
— Fred C. Plumer, President, Progressive Christianity.org
“A welcome book that is bold (without being contentious) and courageous (without needing to be triumphant), Felten and Procter-Murphy give voice to a faith that provides a profound alternative to the dominant ideology of ‘American Christianity.’ Attention should be paid!”
— Walter Brueggemann, professor emeritus, Columbia Theological Seminary
Felten and Procter-Murphy aim to re-evaluate the organizing myths of Christianity in their new book, Living the Questions: The Wisdom of Progressive Christianity (HarperOne; August 2012; Paperback; $17.99). Calling on some of the most provocative and authoritative voices in Christian scholarship today—Marcus Borg, Diana Butler Bass, John Dominic Crossan, A.J. Levine, John Shelby Spong, Brian McLaren, and many others—Living the Questions presents a lively and stimulating primer on what it means to be a progressive Christian.
Based on the popular DVD series by the same name, Living the Questions covers twenty-one topics many churches are afraid to discuss—as well as reimagining traditional topics of the faith in an all-new light.
Rather than watch the church pass into the irrelevance of so many religions of the past, Felten and Procter-Murphy aim to fulfill people’s longing for meaning by encouraging them to “live the questions” instead of “forcing the answers.”
The words of Ken Sehested are adapted and re-visioned in this prayer for the New Year from Living the Questions. May Benedicere be your way in 2012!
Benedicere
By Ken Sehested (adapted)
May your home always be too small
to hold all your friends.
May your heart remain ever supple,
Fearless in the face of threat,
Jubilant in the grip of grace.
May your hands remain open,
Caressing, never clinched,
Save to pound the doors
Of all who barter justice
To the highest bidder.
May your heroes be earthy
Dusty-shoed and rumpled,
Hallowed but unhaloed,
Guiding you through seasons of tremor and travail,
Apprenticed to the godly art of giggling
Amid haggard news
And portentous circumstance.
May your hankering
Be in rhythm with heaven’s
Whose covenant vows
A dusty intersection with your own:
When creation’s hope and history rhyme.
May Hosannas lilt from your lungs:
Creation is not done
Creation is not yet done.
All flesh,
I am told,
will behold
Will surely behold…
Benedicere (“to bless, to praise”) is based on a prayer by Ken Sehested, author of “In the Land of the Living: Prayers Personal and Public.”
Concept: David Felten & Scott Greissel
Edit: Scott Greissel
Cameras: Gregg Brekke, Scott Greissel, Jeff Procter-Murphy & Edwin Serrano
Copyright (c) 2012 livingthequestions.com
David Felten, co-creator of Living the Questions, visits with Pat McMahon on some of the lesser known elements of the Christmas stories.
For natives of Phoenix, Pat McMahon is a living legend. A pillar of the local media scene for over 50 years, Pat is not only a respected radio and TV host, but was also at the heart of the Emmy winning comedy team that made The Wallace & Ladmo Show the longest running children’s show in television history. Fans of Living the Questions will recognize Pat from his KTAR radio interviews with Marcus Borg and Lloyd Geering.
David has become a regular on McMahon’s “God Show” and other radio and TV broadcasts. To listen to Pat and David discussing Easter and Halloween, you can find links HERE on The Fountains blog
___________________
For the tech goobs out there, here are a couple of behind-the-scenes shots of what the taping looked like before the green screen was transformed into a digital backdrop:
Thanks to everyone who participated! Stay tuned for the latest developments in upcoming curriculum and networking for Progressive Christians! Merry Christmas!
Bishop John Shelby Spong’s latest book, “Re-Claiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World,” comes out today. LtQ creators David Felten and Jeff Procter-Murphy were privileged to be included in list of those endorsing the new book. This collection of essays provides an accessible and informal primer on not only the history and significance of the Bible as a whole, but the background and core message of each book. David & Jeff caught up with Bishop Spong at the Canadian Center for Progressive Christianity’s “Widen the Embrace” Conference in London, Ontario, and this is what Jack had to say:
<br>
The LtQ endorsement on the back of the book reads, “Once again, Bishop Spong comes to the aid of those who’ve had a hunch that traditional Christianity hasn’t been completely forthcoming about the Bible’s origins, its purpose, and its truly radical demands on anyone claiming to be follower of Jesus. Re-Claiming the Bible will bridge the gap for anyone serious about an introduction to what is common knowledge among scholars and pastors but has trouble permeating the pew.”
“This is my latest book. It came out in November of 2011. It’s sort of a journey through the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation looking at it from a new perspective. I must say that I was very pleased to get as endorsers of this book some people who’ve been really important to me in my journey. Two of them are pastors in Arizona: David Felten and Jeff Procter-Murphy, who are the creators of “Living the Questions.” They’re people I’ve known for 15 years and people that I admire enormously. I run into their work everywhere I am. I was in Oxford in the UK six months ago and we passed this Anglican church and there was this great big banner out: “Come next Wednesday for the opening session of ‘Living the Questions!'” And I remember when ‘Living the Questions’ was born.”
“Reclaiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World” is available in bookstores and online beginning November 8th, 2011
Pastors David Felten and Jeff Procter-Murphy, along with the voices of top Bible scholars and church leaders—including Marcus Borg, Diana Butler Bass, John Dominic Crossan, Helen Prejean, and John Shelby Spong—provide a primer to a church movement that encourages every Christian to “live the questions” instead of “forcing the answers.”
Based on the bestselling DVD course, "Living the Questions: The Wisdom of Progressive Christianity" tackles issues of faith, dogma, and controversial subjects that many churches are afraid to address. "Living the Questions" is the most comprehensive survey of progressive Christianity in existence today.
Available at www.livingthequestions.com, through online booksellers, and as a Kindle download!
“A welcome book that is bold (without being contentious) and courageous (without needing to be triumphant), Felten and Procter-Murphy give voice to a faith that provides a profound alternative to the dominant ideology of ‘American Christianity.’ Attention should be paid!”
— WALTER BRUEGGEMANN, PROFESSOR EMERITUS, COLUMBIA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
There are four “canonical” gospels in the Bible. While Matthew and Luke are the only gospels to tell the story of Jesus’ birth, their stories are very different from one another.
Living the Questions 
You must be logged in to post a comment.