By Becky Whitlock

“The Holy Week Story” as developed by Josh Toufar is a fine example of bringing a faith formation experience into a worship setting. It draws the congregation in visually and aurally, engages them by making their role a part of the storytelling, and works well in an intergenerational setting.
The first part of the play stretches from Palm Sunday to Good Friday and employs a paraphrased telling of the biblical story. However, each section of the story ends with words directly from the Bible that are repeated continually through the rest of this part of the play, creating, one imagines, a cacophony of sound that reflects the chaos surrounding Jesus’ last hours. Then as the crucifixion scene comes to an end, silence engulfs the darkened sanctuary. This part of “The Holy Week Story” uses several techniques that engage multiple intelligences, as cited by Jane Vella in “Taking Learning to Task.” Those with verbal, visual, musical and bodily intelligences would all be able to appreciate this play. I particularly like the cacophonic technique to elicit a sense of the chaos and confusion that I imagine was present during those last few hours, followed by a profound silence that I think would convey the sense of loss and despair that those who loved Jesus felt as they watched him die. This part of the play ends with the playing of “The Wonderful Cross,” an evocative hymn that would appeal to those with intrapersonal intelligence as well as musical intelligence. I like that the hymn is played over the public address system, so that the congregation can focus internally on the music and the words rather than watching singers, which would give this part of the play a performance, rather than worship-like, atmosphere.
Following the hymn, the play continues with a series of vignettes to portray the Easter story. To give this part of the play a “slide show” feel, the congregation is asked to help by closing and opening their eyes on a verbal cue, seeing the story progress through these scenes. I like this idea because the drama of the Easter story can easily be overplayed by actors. Through vignettes, the actors are able to convey the emotion of the story without hamming it up. But what I find most intriguing about this technique is how the audience is engaged in the storytelling by opening and closing their eyes. I would suspect that this engagement by the audience brings multiple knowers’ perceptions to bear on the subject, in this case the Easter story. Approached meditatively, those who watch the scenes unfold could likely get a renewed sense of the drama and good news of this story.
Finally, I believe this play handles such a well-known story in a way that is appealing to an intergenerational group. Children would enjoy seeing the story enacted, probably by older youth whom they know. Seeing them in these roles would give the children a familiar way to enter into a story. Teens would be engaged in the play through their roles and perhaps gain a better appreciation for the story as told in worship. Adults also would enjoy the play, not only by seeing young people telling it, but by being engaged on multiple levels of intelligence. This common experience would be one all ages would share as they continue to tell the story.

By Becky Whitlock

“The Holy Week Story” as developed by Josh Toufar is a fine example of bringing a faith formation experience into a worship setting. It draws the congregation in visually and aurally, engages them by making their role a part of the storytelling, and works well in an intergenerational setting.
The first part of the play stretches from Palm Sunday to Good Friday and employs a paraphrased telling of the biblical story. However, each section of the story ends with words directly from the Bible that are repeated continually through the rest of this part of the play, creating, one imagines, a cacophony of sound that reflects the chaos surrounding Jesus’ last hours. Then as the crucifixion scene comes to an end, silence engulfs the darkened sanctuary. This part of “The Holy Week Story” uses several techniques that engage multiple intelligences, as cited by Jane Vella in “Taking Learning to Task.” Those with verbal, visual, musical and bodily intelligences would all be able to appreciate this play. I particularly like the cacophonic technique to elicit a sense of the chaos and confusion that I imagine was present during those last few hours, followed by a profound silence that I think would convey the sense of loss and despair that those who loved Jesus felt as they watched him die. This part of the play ends with the playing of “The Wonderful Cross,” an evocative hymn that would appeal to those with intrapersonal intelligence as well as musical intelligence. I like that the hymn is played over the public address system, so that the congregation can focus internally on the music and the words rather than watching singers, which would give this part of the play a performance, rather than worship-like, atmosphere.
Following the hymn, the play continues with a series of vignettes to portray the Easter story. To give this part of the play a “slide show” feel, the congregation is asked to help by closing and opening their eyes on a verbal cue, seeing the story progress through these scenes. I like this idea because the drama of the Easter story can easily be overplayed by actors. Through vignettes, the actors are able to convey the emotion of the story without hamming it up. But what I find most intriguing about this technique is how the audience is engaged in the storytelling by opening and closing their eyes. I would suspect that this engagement by the audience brings multiple knowers’ perceptions to bear on the subject, in this case the Easter story. Approached meditatively, those who watch the scenes unfold could likely get a renewed sense of the drama and good news of this story.
Finally, I believe this play handles such a well-known story in a way that is appealing to an intergenerational group. Children would enjoy seeing the story enacted, probably by older youth whom they know. Seeing them in these roles would give the children a familiar way to enter into a story. Teens would be engaged in the play through their roles and perhaps gain a better appreciation for the story as told in worship. Adults also would enjoy the play, not only by seeing young people telling it, but by being engaged on multiple levels of intelligence. This common experience would be one all ages would share as they continue to tell the story.