As I sit here this evening, all the family are gone, all the presents are open, all the food is eaten, Christmas is just about officially over.
As I realized this I was a little sad. I am going to miss everything that came with Christmas this year. I am going to miss the Tuesday Night rehearsals and spending so much time with our incredible cast and crew. I am going to miss the two weeks of madness that led up to opening weekend, making sure all the equipment was working, making sure everyone was ready to go, adding new scenes at the last minute, and the list goes on. I am going to miss the adrenaline that comes when the lights come on for the 1st scene on opening night. I am going to miss the people that I had an opportunity to connect with because of the play.
I am not going to miss, the mics that work perfectly until you walk out on stage, the light board that mysteriously jumps ques in the middle of the show, the 2 minute dramatic pause before the 80's scene, and all the little things that never work just right.
But beyond the things that I am going to miss and the headaches, what was our purpose? To reach people with the message of a Savior, a savior that came to earth to live a perfect life and die to save His children and give them eternal life. That is really what has made everything worth it and I think we had so many opportunies to plant seeds this year.
Thank you so much to all the people involved in this year's drama, whether cast, crew, or just a guest, you made this Christmas very special for me and for my family as we work together to share the good news of Christmas.
Ian C. Bitler - GRPC Director of Technology
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Monday, December 24, 2007
Body Parts!
After watching this play develop over the past few months, I can soundly say that our staff and volunteers had a true passion for bringing an outstanding experience to this community. ATFC was a labor of love; love for our God and love for the community.
As a staff member at GRPC who was not directly involved with the production of ATFC, I can tell you how humbling it is to see something evolving that you can't wrap your head around. I am simply not gifted in most of the areas required to participate in the production of a play. So when I saw and heard the amazing things going on day after day, it brought me great joy. Why? Because 1 Corinthians 12 was brought to life in rich ways. This passage describes the necessity of the Body, or the Church, to appreciate the functions of its various parts. Each of us have unique skills, talents, inclinations, and interests, and these are all by God's design. He has written the greatest story, and each of us has been called to fulfill a part in it. We must strive to discover what that part is and then strive to be content with it (that's where it gets hard!). Using an analogy from ATFC, not all are called to be actors with speaking lines, but the play could not run without a dedicated stage crew. Both roles are equally important. God uses both great and small to do marvelous things. And that was certainly true of ATFC.
I pray that many were blessed by the passion and joy of those that worked so hard to share the love of God with their neighbors this Christmas season!
As a staff member at GRPC who was not directly involved with the production of ATFC, I can tell you how humbling it is to see something evolving that you can't wrap your head around. I am simply not gifted in most of the areas required to participate in the production of a play. So when I saw and heard the amazing things going on day after day, it brought me great joy. Why? Because 1 Corinthians 12 was brought to life in rich ways. This passage describes the necessity of the Body, or the Church, to appreciate the functions of its various parts. Each of us have unique skills, talents, inclinations, and interests, and these are all by God's design. He has written the greatest story, and each of us has been called to fulfill a part in it. We must strive to discover what that part is and then strive to be content with it (that's where it gets hard!). Using an analogy from ATFC, not all are called to be actors with speaking lines, but the play could not run without a dedicated stage crew. Both roles are equally important. God uses both great and small to do marvelous things. And that was certainly true of ATFC.
I pray that many were blessed by the passion and joy of those that worked so hard to share the love of God with their neighbors this Christmas season!
Friday, December 21, 2007
Share your experiences with ATFC
This past weekend, GRPC wrapped up production of our Christmas musical, A Time for Christmas. Our cast and crew had an incredible time throughout and it is our prayer that you were touched by the play. Throughout this blog you will see pictures and read stories from the cast and crew. But even more than that, it is your chance to "Share Your Story" of how A Time for Christmas has affected you and your family this Christmas season. Join the conversation with a question for one of the actors or share what the story meant to you. We've heard many stories of your experiences with the show. Now it is your turn to share those stories with one another.
We want to hear about your experience with A Time for Christmas. Here are a few ideas to get you started...
From the cast, crew and all of us at Glasgow, Merry Christmas!
We want to hear about your experience with A Time for Christmas. Here are a few ideas to get you started...
- What stories made you laugh or made you cry from the show?
- How were you or your family affected by the show?
- What character did you most relate to and why?
- Have you ever felt like the Christmas spirit was dying? How did you help keep it alive?
From the cast, crew and all of us at Glasgow, Merry Christmas!
Please send someone to love me
"...God, please send someone to love me." This is the line from the play that always tugs at my heart. It seems so easy for a child to know their need and ask for help and comfort. But for us adults often we feel the need - yet our ability to ask for answers is tangled in a complex maze of emotion, disappointment, and pride.
My father left our family at Christmas. I was an adult at the time with children of my own, but it was still very painful. One night in our bedroom, I begged God to just take away the pain - not let me feel anything! For awhile, I believe He did just that...and then I realized I wasn't feeling the incredible sadness, but I also wasn't feeling the happy things. Today we try so hard to protect our children from the negative, but sometimes sad is important...Every Christmas since (and it has been 20 years) there are waves of emotion that stir up the sad. Now I don't ask Him to take away the pain, just stay close and walk through it with me.
Our young son once brought home a Christmas paper from Kindergarden. He had drawn a picture and written underneath, I KNOW THAT LOVE IS A GIFT. It sticks in my mind as a reminder - If a 5-year old can realize that love is a gift, why can't I realize that what is done for me, given to me, provided for me in love, is a gift. Christmas is about God's gift of love - someone to love us - Jesus Christ.
I am eagerly finishing up the wrapping and baking. I am eagerly awaiting each grandchild (and our big kids, too) opening the "perfect" gift we have chosen. I am savoring the time ALL our family will be together - and I just found out some dogs will be included in the mix!!!
May your Christmas be wonderful - may your children understand love is a gift - may you experience the gift of someone to love you - JESUS CHRIST.
Sherry Bitler
Children's Ministry Director
My father left our family at Christmas. I was an adult at the time with children of my own, but it was still very painful. One night in our bedroom, I begged God to just take away the pain - not let me feel anything! For awhile, I believe He did just that...and then I realized I wasn't feeling the incredible sadness, but I also wasn't feeling the happy things. Today we try so hard to protect our children from the negative, but sometimes sad is important...Every Christmas since (and it has been 20 years) there are waves of emotion that stir up the sad. Now I don't ask Him to take away the pain, just stay close and walk through it with me.
Our young son once brought home a Christmas paper from Kindergarden. He had drawn a picture and written underneath, I KNOW THAT LOVE IS A GIFT. It sticks in my mind as a reminder - If a 5-year old can realize that love is a gift, why can't I realize that what is done for me, given to me, provided for me in love, is a gift. Christmas is about God's gift of love - someone to love us - Jesus Christ.
I am eagerly finishing up the wrapping and baking. I am eagerly awaiting each grandchild (and our big kids, too) opening the "perfect" gift we have chosen. I am savoring the time ALL our family will be together - and I just found out some dogs will be included in the mix!!!
May your Christmas be wonderful - may your children understand love is a gift - may you experience the gift of someone to love you - JESUS CHRIST.
Sherry Bitler
Children's Ministry Director
Have you ever felt like the Christmas spirit was dying? How do you help keep it alive?
We all have fond memories of Christmas time from our pasts. There is a certain nostalgia we feel when we hear a certain song, or see a decorated tree, or see twinkling lights. My current favorite is seeing houses with lights programmed to change with the beat of certain Christmas songs (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1fZn3RTTzg). There’s something about Christmas that just makes us feel good. Often this is what is described as the “Christmas spirit.” And because of the stress in our lives, or maybe because recollection of past events always seems more enjoyable than they actually were, it seems harder each year to recapture that feeling. We seem to harden to those things that brought us happiness in the past, and we long for “the good ‘ol days.”
One of the things I love about this particular play is that it so clearly defines what the true Christmas spirit is. As Bart tells my character (Bill) in the play: feelings, like human love, can change as quickly as the blowing wind. Feelings change and fade, thus we feel like it is dying inside us. And literally, it is, because we have focused on the wrong thing! But the Christmas spirit is so much more than a feeling. It is literally the spirit of Christ, who embodied truth and perfect love. It is knowledge of, an acceptance of, and a trust in, Jesus Christ. The Christmas spirit is truly joy in this sense because it does not rely upon time of year, music, a tree, or anything else. It is joyful because it is eternal; it does not change. We know Christ came to earth to become a man, becoming just like you and me so that he could live and do something we could not do on our own: be perfectly obedient and pleasing to God. What’s more, he was literally born to die, and not just any death. His death on the cross satisfied the judgment of God that was due us. Now we are free from the curse of God’s judgment! This is true, everlasting, joy! I’ll quote the oft forgotten third verse of the classic Christmas song, Joy to the World:
No more let sins and sorrows grow,
One of the things I love about this particular play is that it so clearly defines what the true Christmas spirit is. As Bart tells my character (Bill) in the play: feelings, like human love, can change as quickly as the blowing wind. Feelings change and fade, thus we feel like it is dying inside us. And literally, it is, because we have focused on the wrong thing! But the Christmas spirit is so much more than a feeling. It is literally the spirit of Christ, who embodied truth and perfect love. It is knowledge of, an acceptance of, and a trust in, Jesus Christ. The Christmas spirit is truly joy in this sense because it does not rely upon time of year, music, a tree, or anything else. It is joyful because it is eternal; it does not change. We know Christ came to earth to become a man, becoming just like you and me so that he could live and do something we could not do on our own: be perfectly obedient and pleasing to God. What’s more, he was literally born to die, and not just any death. His death on the cross satisfied the judgment of God that was due us. Now we are free from the curse of God’s judgment! This is true, everlasting, joy! I’ll quote the oft forgotten third verse of the classic Christmas song, Joy to the World:
No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found, Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.
So how do you keep the Christmas spirit alive? You start by focusing on the right things from now on. We celebrate Christmas with songs, a tree, and gifts. This is our response to what God has done for us. But the spirit of Christmas is knowing who Jesus Christ is and finding joy in the fact that he came to this earth to save us. When you consider that we can spend eternity in heaven with God only because of this, you will feel the true spirit of Christmas alive within you.
So how do you keep the Christmas spirit alive? You start by focusing on the right things from now on. We celebrate Christmas with songs, a tree, and gifts. This is our response to what God has done for us. But the spirit of Christmas is knowing who Jesus Christ is and finding joy in the fact that he came to this earth to save us. When you consider that we can spend eternity in heaven with God only because of this, you will feel the true spirit of Christmas alive within you.
How I was Affected by ATFC
I had the privilege of producing A Time for Christmas with the help of an incredible cast and crew. This past year, our whole family was involved in the play. Melanie, my wife, headed up the stage crew, Markie, our 12 year old, was ON the stage crew, and our two daughters, Katie and Mollie were “orphans.” It was really awesome for my kids to interface with other people who love the Lord and are serving him by using their gifts. Markie had a blast on the stage crew. Our stage crew is made up of all kinds of fun people. When that curtain is closed and the scenes are being played out front in Bill or Mary’s apartment, there are all kinds of things happening on the stage! The play brought our family closer together and closer to the Lord. Doing something like this together is awesome because you are intentionally building memories together.
Feel free to share in this space how being involved in the play—either behind the scenes or out front as an actor has affected you. If you were one of our guests, feel free to share how the play spoke to your heart.
Chuck L. Betters, A Time for Christmas Producer
Feel free to share in this space how being involved in the play—either behind the scenes or out front as an actor has affected you. If you were one of our guests, feel free to share how the play spoke to your heart.
Chuck L. Betters, A Time for Christmas Producer
Thursday, December 20, 2007
I can relate to that character...
I've known a lot of introspective people who can be alone and really articulate the deep things of their hearts. I am not one of them. But I learned something cool about myself years ago - sometimes, through the words of a song or a character in a movie, I find myself relating to those words or to that character.
Watching A Time for Christmas was no different for me. In the first leg of Bill and Bart's journey, Bill witnesses the announcement of the birth of Jesus, the long-promised Messiah. As the scene draws to a close, Bart scolds Bill, "You saw the announcement of the birth of the Christ-child, the very first Christmas celebration. And all you can think about is sheep?" See, Bill missed the power of what was happening because he couldn't get past the smell of the sheep. I'm a lot like Bill in that. I miss experience God's miraculous work in my life because I'm too busy looking at sheep.
What about you? Is there a character or a particular scene in the show that you related to? Why is that? Share your story with one another.
Watching A Time for Christmas was no different for me. In the first leg of Bill and Bart's journey, Bill witnesses the announcement of the birth of Jesus, the long-promised Messiah. As the scene draws to a close, Bart scolds Bill, "You saw the announcement of the birth of the Christ-child, the very first Christmas celebration. And all you can think about is sheep?" See, Bill missed the power of what was happening because he couldn't get past the smell of the sheep. I'm a lot like Bill in that. I miss experience God's miraculous work in my life because I'm too busy looking at sheep.
What about you? Is there a character or a particular scene in the show that you related to? Why is that? Share your story with one another.
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