THE COMMUNITY KIT VIRTUAL CHRISTMAS, 24 YEARS AGO
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hose who remember when church congregations actually went to the building to have corporate worship, may recall adjectives such as “traditional” or “contemporary” on a sign outside to let people have an option of which style of music was being played to support of the pastor’s message.
Angelic Wave (2009).
But would other styles of presentation attract people? What about “improvised” or “imagined?” What of “prophetic” worship? Is that another name for Christian sci-fi? Heresy? Who would have imagined “online” worship?
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Christmas rockin’ (2007).
hose ideas popped up when finding the program of a church Sunday School Christmas presentation from 23-years ago, December 14, 1997. The script was imagined by the church Sunday School teachers and students who enlisted talents of the church’s drama ministry — the precursor to Kingdom Impact Theater.
Faces of Christmas shows: puppets, technology, virtual.
The story was set in the future as an homage to classic science and fiction writers, juxtaposing Old Testament scripture with new millennium possibilities. The show’s title, “Virtual Christmas,” was novel. The ideas, unimagined. Below are the original program notes. Given how Sunday School is conducted in 2020, how many of the ideas are relevant still — or have come to pass?
VIRTUAL CHRISTMAS It is Christmas time in the year 2010 A.D.
“Kailey & Cru” (2007-08).
The teenaged members of the local church gather to wrap presents and have a party remembering Christmases past. In this case, they dress up in turnof-the-century clothes — from 1997. As they prepare for the party, they discover antiques from 1997 including a collection of videotapes of themselves participating in the Sunday School Christmas program of 1997. As they put the tape in the VCR, the audience is able to see a live presentation of what the partygoers see. However, one teen, Ethan, begins to wonder, in this technologic era, if the real reason for Christmas has gotten lost. Through the aid of VIRTUAL REALITY SOFTWARE the teens not only view the Christmas story in 3-D, but are transported to Bethlehem during the time of Jesus and experience the events as they occurred.
Angels & chorus (2004).
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Thus, the stage is set for interactive presentation of contemporary responses to the Christmas story and the traditional rendering of the divine saga. Through it all, the congregation should discover what the students do: That no matter how much our lives change, Jesus is the same, yesterday today and forever.
