A message for the millennia

DINNER THEATER
Enjoy “Such a Night as This” at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 5, 6 and 7 at Grace Lutheran in Destin.
Tickets are $10 and now on sale. Seating is limited, and tickets must be purchased in advance. Call 650-3303, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.





When the interdenominational drama group 2nd Acts presents “Such a Night as This” next month, they will take the audience on a journey back in time — back more than 2,000 years.

The drama portrays the history of one New Testament family as it experiences the reality of the life of Christ in their home and culture, and tells the Christmas story, weaving parallel stories, to promote understanding of that long-ago social and political situation.

Karin Schmidt, writer/director of “Such a Night as This,” told The Log she had written previously, but this was her biggest project when she began writing in the spring of 2001.

“I had been doing a great deal of thinking about what it must have been like to actually be there on the night of Christ’s birth,” she said. “I wondered about the resultant impact of having been a witness to the fulfillment of the long-awaited promise.”

Audience participation, authentic Judaic cuisine, costuming and scenery add to the feeling of having gone to another place and time for the evening. Through research, Schmidt blends historical accuracy and cultural authenticity with imaginative possibilities.

“Karin is gifted in writing scripts and bringing the Biblical story to life, while also imagining what the emotions and reactions would have been on the night Jesus was born,” Rev. Paul Kummer, pastor of Grace Lutheran told The Log. “Thoroughly researched with historical flourishes, one cannot help but be transported back to that night.”

2nd Acts strives to create a setting in which God’s Word may be experienced.

“When we offer a Christmas drama to the community, it is not about simply reminding people that ‘Jesus is the Reason for the Season’ — it is about delivering a fresh Word, and creating an environment where it can be more easily heard, in a setting outside of our guests’ normal lives,” Schmidt said. “It gives them freedom to explore the experience away from their everyday distractions.”
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The congregation at Grace Lutheran Church took a leap of faith in 2001 when the drama group, an outreach ministry of the church, presented the  interactive dinner theater production for the first time.

“It has since grown into a ministry effort that none of us ever envisioned,” Schmidt said.

“When work was begun at Grace on that first production, there was no human intent beyond that first season. And so it came as a surprise when the community voiced its opinion and ‘Such a Night as This’ became an ‘event.’ ”

As the group began preparations for the 2002 production, they realized their calling was now more than this small handful of people could answer.

“The vision for an interdenominational drama group was conceived, and we began to pray for the vision to become reality,” Schmidt said.

“Enthusiasm for the project spilled into a calling on the hearts of others in the community and within a short time, a series of surprising twists opened the way.”

The second season saw people from other congregations joining the drama group, which now took the name 2nd Acts.

“It was to be a constant reminder that we are a representation of the Body of Christ, the Church that was started and recorded in the original book of Acts, and, like those people, we have a job to do,” Schmidt said.

“The group functions as a living, breathing prayer… that we be one even as Christ and the Father are one, and that through our message others might believe in Him (John 17),” she said. “Our aim is to be faithful to demonstrate the unity of the Body of Christ, and bring the message of God’s grace to the Emerald Coast community.”
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Through the years, 2nd Acts has grown into a true interdenominational group, with members coming from a total of 20 individual churches and 13 denominational and non-denominational affiliations from four counties.

“The members of 2nd Acts are as diverse in age and background as they are in church affiliation,” Schmidt said. “But even greater than their diversity is their unity. When the people of 2nd Acts come together, all labels and distinctions fall away in light of the one thing on their minds — they are united in Christ, and their mission is to create for the community an atmosphere in which God’s Word can become a part of each individual’s personal experience. The group’s brand of out-reach, in-reach, and across-the-board-reach is exciting, effective and contagious. Working alongside area churches, the members of the group have only one goal — to bring life-changing awareness and vitality to all who will attend.”

Kummer said he will fill in one night as the Good-News-bringing shepherd.

“The greatest thing about 2nd Acts, besides the delicious food, near professional acting, amazing sets and being taken back into time, is the fact that dozens of churches have worked to present the Truth of the fulcrum of all history — namely Jesus  — together. It’s not a Grace Lutheran thing, but a Body of Christ endeavor,” he said.

“I’m proud of what God has done through willing servants who pray, work, build and practice very diligently in order to give our community, including people as far away as Pace, a meaningful encounter with God.”

In 2004, 2nd Acts added “With These Eyes,” set in the confusion following the crucifixion and showing the impact that Christ’s life, death and resurrection had on those around Him.

“We look forward to the day when we can add the third drama in this trilogy,” Schmidt said. “Through everything, we have repeatedly and powerfully seen God at work — planting seeds, orchestrating details, calling more and more people into the work. We have watched as He has provided, miraculously at times, for every need, and granted healings, and those too have been nothing short of miraculous. And in all this, He has made possible a promoting of His message that amazes, softens, inspires and blesses the hearts of even those who may be least expecting the gentle touch of God’s hand.”