Enriching Families in the Parish Through the Use of Musical Drama

Concordia Seminary - Saint Louis Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project Concordia Seminary Scholarship 2-1-2001 Enriching Families in the Parish Through the Use of Musical Drama Wallace Becker Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.csl.edu/dmin Part of the Practical Theology Commons Recommended Citation Becker, Wallace, "Enriching Families in the Parish Through the Use of Musical Drama" (2001). Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project. 109. https://scholar.csl.edu/dmin/109 This Major Applied Project is brought to you for free and open access by the Concordia Seminary Scholarship at Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project by an authorized administrator of Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CONCORDIA SEMINARY SAINT LOUIS, MISSOURI ENRICHING FAMILIES IN THE PARISH THROUGH THE USE OF MUSICAL DRAMA A MAJOR APPLIED PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF MINISTRY BY REV. WALLACE M. BECKER SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI FEBRUARY, 2001 To Alvina, my wife, To Jeremy and Andy, my sons. Our family has been a blessing from God. The musical dramas that we have shared have been wonderful family experiences. They have given me great joy. CONTENTS ABSTRACT x INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER ONE: FAMILY CENTERED MINISTRY IN THE CHURCH 4 Introduction 4 The Family is God's Design 8 The Church Was Established By God 22 The Church Is the Family of God 24 Church and Family Working Together 28 The Attitude of the Leaders 32 Church Programs 34 Church Programs That Oppose the Family 40 Adding Family-Friendly Programs 41 Christian Family, The Church in That Place 45 TWO: MUSICAL DRAMA IN THE CHURCH 48 Introduction 48 The Roots of Musical Drama in the Early Christian Church . 50 Musical Drama in the Middle Ages 52 The Passion Play of Oberammergau 57 iv The Development of Oratorios 60 The Passion Music of J. S. Bach 62 Handel and His Oratorio: "Messiah" 64 Musical Drama Today 68 Conclusion 76 THREE: MUSICAL DRAMA AT ZION LUTHERAN CHURCH, LITCHFIELD, ILLINOIS 77 Introduction 77 A Brief History 78 How Does One Choose A Musical Drama 81 The Promise: A Family Centered Musical 87 Evaluating the Program 89 Conclusion 108 FOUR: DEVELOPING A PLAN FOR MUSICAL DRAMA AT REDEEMER, SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI . 109 Introduction 109 The Church's Desire to Support Families 110 Love Will Be Our Home 113 Enriching Our Families 122 Conclusion 136 CONCLUSION 138 v APPENDIX 1: DEVELOPMENTAL ASSETS IDENTIFIED BY SEARCH INSTITUTE 141 40 Developmental Assets for Infants: Birth to Twelve Months . 141 40 Developmental Assets for Toddlers: Thirteen Months to Thirty-five Months 144 40 Developmental Assets for Preschoolers: Ages Three to Five . 147 40 Developmental Assets for Elementary-Age: Ages Six to Eleven . 150 40 Developmental Assets for Youth: Middle & High School — Ages Twelve to Eighteen 152 Asset-Building Ideas for All Adults 154 Asset-Building Ideas for Parents 155 Asset-Building Ideas for Children 156 Asset-Building Ideas for Youth 157 Integrating Asset Building into Worship 158 Integrating Asset Building into Fellowship Activities 159 Integrating Asset Building into Congregational Care 160 Integrating Asset Building into Facilities Maintenance and Operations 161 Asset-Building Songs and Hymns 162 APPENDIX 2: MUSICAL DRAMA RESOURCES 165 Children's Christmas Musicals 165 Other Children's Musicals 167 Youth Musicals 168 vi Adult Musicals 169 Family Musicals 170 Other Drama Resources 171 APPENDIX 3: THE MUSICAL DRAMA MINISTRY AT ZION LUTHERAN CHURCH, LITCHFIELD, ILLINOIS 172 APPENDIX 3A: THE HISTORICAL NARRATIVE 172 Introduction 172 The Witness 172 The Victor 175 The Promise: 1992 176 The Promise: 1993 193 The Promise: 1994 197 The Promise: 1995 199 The Promise: 1996 205 The Promise: 1997 and Beyond 211 APPENDIX 3B: ORGANIZATIONAL AND PROMOTIIONAL MATERIAL FOR THE PROMISE — 1996 213 Director's Notes, January, 1996 213 Promise Cast — Parts for Try-Outs 216 Promise Cast 1996 218 Special Acting Practices 221 vii Letter to Community Churches 222 Sample Announcements 223 Article for Zion's Newsletter 224 Letter Announcing the Cast Party 225 1996 - Churches Represented in The Promise 226 Newspaper and Magazine Articles 227 APPENDIX 3C: THANK YOU NOTES AND LETTERS RECEIVED IN 1996 228 APPENDIX 3D: EVALUTATION OF FAMILY ENRICHMENT THROUGH THE PROMISE, SPRING 2000 234 APPENDIX 4: ORGANIZATIONAL AND PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL FOR LOVE WILL BE OUR HOME, SPRING 2000, REDEEMER LUTHERAN CHURCH, SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI 238 Fliers 238 Musical Practice Schedule 239 Audition Sign Up 241 Audition Sign In 242 Cast 243 Costumes/Props/Sets 244 Announcements 245 viii Speaking Parts in the Songs 246 Mission Project 247 The Program 248 Letter to Cast after the Performance 251 Financial Statement 252 Musical Drama Evaluation Survey 253 Survey Results 255 BIBLIOGRAPHY 258 ix ABSTRACT Healthy families are important for the health of the congregation. Many churches see the need to focus energy on strengthening families. Musical drama based on the life of Jesus has its roots in the liturgy. The musical dramas presented at Zion Lutheran, Litchfield, Illinois, involved families and provided opportunities for their enrichment. By developing and implementing a plan for musical drama to enrich families at Redeemer Lutheran, Springfield, Missouri, the author sought to strengthen these families, providing opportunities to build positive assets or building blocks into their lives. Participants who filled out surveys confirmed growth in positive assets. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The New International Version (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984). xi INTRODUCTION The family that we grow up in helps to shape who we are, what we value, and how we see the world. That certainly is true for me. I grew up in a Christian family where closeness was valued, and structure and discipline were maintained. Both of my parents were German Lutherans, and I have been a member of the Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod my entire life. We went to church every Sunday as a family. My mom played the organ, and my dad was involved in the leadership of the congregation. At church and at home, music was a big part of our lives. I don't mean to imply that my family was made up of accomplished musicians. We lived on a farm in Southeast Saskatchewan, Canada, and neither of my parents had a high school education. My sisters and I attended a one-room school about four miles away that went up to eighth grade. And yet my mom had learned to read music and could play the organ, the accordion, and the guitar, and my dad played the violin. We would often sing together as family gathered around the pump organ in our living room, and the songs we would most often sing were Gospel songs and hymns from the hymnal. At second and third grade already, my mom was teaching me to sing the harmony tenor lines. Because worship was so important to our family and we were in church every Sunday, I learned to sing the liturgy even before I could read. I may not have had all the words correct, but I loved to sing, and church was a place to sing. At home I would sometimes play "church" with my little brother. We would sing, sometimes songs that we made up ourselves, sometimes songs that we remembered from church (at least as well as we could remember them) and he would have to listen to my "sermon." When he got tired of that, I would just fill in the pews (chairs) with some teddy bears. My four older sisters learned to play the old pump organ in our living room. I believe my mom taught them how to play. I can remember them practicing and how I would interrupt them and bother them, like a typical naughty little brother. I believe I was in second grade when I began to take lessons on the accordion. I remember that it was someone like a traveling salesman who came to the farm once a month to give me lessons. He sold us the accordion and a set of 78-rpm records along with the sheet music. The records took me through each piece teaching me the musical notation and the music theory. When my older sisters finished the eighth grade at our local school, they continued their education by correspondence classes for a year or two and then went to Edmonton, Alberta, to Concordia Lutheran High School and College, to continue their education. This was a boarding high school and when, a few years later, there were job openings for a maintenance man and a women's dorm counselor, my parents applied for the jobs. We left the farm when I was nine, and we moved to the city. But music continued to be an important part of our family experience. We joined a church and became involved with its choirs. As part of the children's choir I got to sing a solo in one of the Christmas services. In sixth grade I asked my mom to teach me how to play her guitar. As she taught me the chords, we would often play and sing together. Sometimes we would go to a nursing home, and we would play and sing for the residents there. 2 In junior high school I learned to play the trumpet and was part of the Junior High Band. We didn't have a band in high school, but I did continue to play my trumpet for weddings and church services occasionally. Also in junior high I began to take piano lessons.

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