REDEEMER is a small congregation with a very diverse membership and very little professional leadership resources. We have been without a pastor for most of the last 10 years!

Our roughly 80 members represent a wide age-span and our cultural backgrounds are from many countries. Many of our members are of European ethnicity and know American culture very well. Most of our newer members come from a variety of African countries and are adapting to American culture. They know many of the same hymns, often sung differently, but also have a rich heritage of music, which isn't written down.

It has been a challenge to our congregation to find resources which will work with our members varied musical skills and style and which can be performed without professional leadership.

Some members prefer to read music. Others learn music from recordings or from cultural memory. Some love the church organ and piano. Others love the guitar and drums. One answer we found was to develop our own resources. We'd love to share them.

These resources can be performed at little or no cost by small groups of people with a variety of musical skills. The programs can easily be adapted to the make-up of your congregation. Let us know if these work for you by adding a comment to our blog.

  3462 Midvale Avenue
  East Falls
  Philadelphia, PA 19129

  Corner of Midvale Avenue and Conrad Street
  Across from Mifflin School
  Cattycornered from East Falls Free Library

  Pastor Festo Mutashobya
  (215) 438-6692 NEW NUMBER!

 

 

A PLAY/CANTATA for use during Lent or Easter.

Were You There?

This play calls for just five actors who perform individually. It can be performed with little or no rehearsal. (We performed it with NO rehearsal and it went well!) The staging can be as simple or elaborate as you like. We have suggested some props, but they are totally optional, as are costumes. Be creative with how you approach this. You might have the actors remain on stage, striking a pose as the other actors enter and say their parts. We've provided a worship service format, which you can adapt as well, substituting other hymns, as you like. It can also be performed without the extra music, scripture and prayers.

The attached document starts with the service (4 pages). The parts for the five actors follow. These parts are performed within the service at the places marked ACT ONE, etc.

Have fun!

A DRAMATIC SONG

THE TEMPTATION of CHRIST

For use during Lent or Pentecost season.

The words to this song act out the dramatic story of Jesus standing up to the Power of Satan. It is set to the tune of the popular song "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen.

It can be performed as a solo or dramatized by three singers, a narrator, Jesus and Satan. Other voices can be used to sing the chorus (either select singers or the entire congregation). Sheet music to Hallelujah is available for about $5 on the internet.

AN IDEA FOR PALM SUNDAY

It was a week before Palm Sunday and we discovered that the person who usually orders the strips of palms which are traditionally handed out to the congregation on Palm Sunday hadn't done it. Florists said, "Too late." We debated asking to borrow some from a neighborhing church, but then we had another idea. Local produce stores carry potted palms at this time of year and they are very inexpensive. We purchased a large plant for about $30. We placed the beautiful plant at the front of the church and as the congregation came forward we actually cut a whole branch off of the palm tree. We didn't use even half of the plant! There was plenty to go around. Our Palm Sunday procession was very moving with everyone waving large, full palm branches as they would have done in Jerusalem two thousand years ago. Instead of the standard "All Glory, Laud and Honor" (which, let's face it, is difficult to sing while walking around), one of our Swahili members taught a simple repetitive Swahili chant. (A simple Hosanna song would also work well.) It was beautiful and a lot of fun and we will be sure to make this our traditional way of celebrating Palm Sunday.