Leaping Off the Page: Any Time of the Year Edition
Page 25
Also Available: Christmas Edition
A collection of plays, stories, and poems
for use in church programs.
Come and Worship
A Christmas Eve service using the five stanzas of “Angels from the Realms of Glory” for each of the five candles in the Advent wreath. The length will be affected by the amount of music that is included in the program.
Christmas Bells
Short Story. Six to eight minutes.
What inspired somebody to write a poem that was to become a favorite Christmas carol? The poem, “Christmas Bells”, a testimony to the faith of Henry W. Longfellow, is better known by its first line: “I heard the bells on Christmas day...” This story tells of the journey Longfellow took through the devastation of the American Civil War and heart-breaking personal tragedy to a deeper faith in a God who is not dead “nor doth he sleep.”
A Christmas Moment
One-Act Play. Approximately 20 minutes. Three women.
What do you do at Christmas time when it seems like God has forgotten you and that you have no significance, no “moment”? Marilyn, a photographer, works with her husband at the local mall. He is Santa Claus, and she takes pictures of him and the children. Because her husband is battling cancer, Marilyn is facing a crisis of faith. Does God care, she wonders? Anna is the owner/operator of a small café. Sally, who works at the café, is Anna’s granddaughter. Anna and Sally also have tragedy in their lives that has battered their faith, but they’re fighting through it. “A Christmas Moment” is what happens when Marilyn walks into the café, and doubt and despair meet faith and hope.
This is a one-act treatment of the monodrama, “Megan’s Moment.”
Christmas Salutations
A Rap. Three to four minutes. Three people plus.
A raucous, rhyming piece of fun plaintively asks the question, “where is Jesus?” in the midst of Christmas chaos.
Christmas Truce
Short Story. Five to seven minutes.
It’s a well-known story: during World War I, several spontaneous celebrations of Christmas randomly occurred in the trenches as enemies put down their weapons and met in no-man’s land. In this story, we see the events unfold through the eyes of Franz, a young German soldier.
Megan’s Moment
Monodrama. Eight to 10 minutes. One woman.
Tired, sad, and discouraged, photographer Marilyn has returned home after working all day at the mall taking pictures of children sitting on Santa’s knee. Her husband Charles, who plays Santa Claus, did not come home with her because he is helping Megan, one of the children who saw him that day. Charles has cancer. Megan’s mother has cancer. Marilyn is trying desperately to grab hold of the faith Charles has in rich abundance as she struggles with her doubts. How can God care, she rages? We watch as she is lifted from despair into hope, from doubt into faith.
Recitations for Children
Nine simple pieces which vary in length from a couple of lines to a poem of four stanzas.
~~~~
Also Available: Easter, Mother’s and Father’s Day Edition
This collection of performance pieces includes one-act plays, sketches, monodramas, poems, litanies, and worship services.
Exalt the King
A litany for Palm Sunday, it includes a responsive reading interspersed with singing.
Previously published by Lillenas Publishing Company in their Easter Program Builder No. 32.
Palms
Comedic Sketch. Four children. About six minutes.
Two children explain Palm Sunday to a couple of friends who have a hard time understanding what it all means.
Hosanna!
Alphabet Poem. Eight children. Two minutes.
Spelling out "Hosanna!" children tell the story of the triumphant entry using rhyming couplets.
Previously published by Lillenas Publishing Company in their Easter Program Builder No.34.
The Bitter Cup
Monodrama. One woman. Six to eight minutes.
Featuring Salome, the mother of James and John, this piece takes place in that time between Jesus' death and His resurrection. As she grieves, she ponders some of the things Jesus said to her.
Oh What a Day!
Monodrama. One woman. Six to eight minutes.
Mary Magdalene has just seen Jesus alive, and she is overcome with joy.
Previously published under the title "In Him Is Light" by Standard Publishing Company's Easter Programs for the Church, 2004.
A sample from this script follows below.
O Glorious Day
Worship Services for Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
This program of narrations, readings, litanies, and music, is built around the hymn by J. Wilbur Chapman, “One Day When Heaven Was Filled With His Praises.”
Previously published by Lillenas Publishing Company in their Easter Program Builder No.33.
Were You There?
Worship Services for Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
This is a “two act” program, Act One: The Passion, and Act Two: The Resurrection, which revolves around the questions asked by the traditional spiritual, “Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?” These questions are answered in monologs by biblical characters who were there. Poems, litanies, music, and audience participation put everyone in the congregation there, and affirm the resounding truth that God was there.
Previously published by Lillenas Publishing Company in their Easter Program Builder No.31.
Undiscovered Genius
A Short Play. Two women. Six to eight minutes.
Two women discuss what they are getting their moms for Mother's Day, and how their moms have blessed them.
A sample from this script follows below.
To Be a Dad
A Play. One man, one woman. Approximately 10 minutes
A young pastor, whose wife is expecting their first baby, wonders if he can be a good dad. The church secretary asks him what kind of dad his father was, and how he can follow his father's example.
Previously published by Lillenas Publishing Company in their Mother's & Father's Day Program Builder No.12.
Children's Easter Recitations
Previously published by Lillenas Publishing Company in their Easter Program Builder No.33.
Children's Mother's Day and Father's Day Recitations
Previously published by Lillenas Publishing Company in their Mother's & Father's Day Program Builder No.12.