Neighbor News
March 29: Embark on "The Road to Easter," Palm Sunday at Calvary UMC, Dumont
Interactive Play takes participants back 2,000 years through last week of Jesus' life
On March 29, Palm Sunday, the ground floor of Calvary United Methodist Church in Dumont will be turned back in time – more than 2,000 years - to represent the ancient city of Jerusalem for an interactive play called “The Road to Easter.” The hallways and rooms in the church, will be decorated for eight scenes depicting events of Jesus’ last week of life.
The public is invited to join the congregation for worship which will begin promptly at 10 AM on this special Sunday. Worshippers become the audience as they are ushered from the sanctuary in small groups staggered throughout the worship period.
Jesus, first played by Carl Ravensbergen of Dumont, is greeted with shouts of “Hosanna! Hosanna!” as he and the audience near the walls of the City. Once inside, Jesus finds the Temple, meant to be a place of prayer, as a noisy marketplace where a cast of seven children, ages 4 to 8 yrs, are selling their wares.
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The next scene is in the Upper Room where Jesus, now played by Nick Greco of Fair Lawn, will celebrate the Passover Seder and what Christians call the “Last Supper” or “Holy Communion.” The audience then journeys outside the City to the Mount of Olives and into the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prays before his arrest.
Actors in these scenes include youth and adults portraying the disciples, religious leaders and soldiers. Jesus is brought into the Trial Room to stand before Pilate, played by Doug Vaughan of Fair Lawn and Caiaphas, portrayed by Andrew Zimmerman of Dumont. The crowd, following the lead of Caiaphas, call for Jesus’ crucifixion.
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Three other scenes follow: the whipping and crucifixion of Jesus and his placement in the Tomb, before the audience returns to the Sanctuary for music, prayer and readings. Jack Zimmerman, Kyle Schellberg, and Michael Brownlee each portray Jesus in the latter scenes. The cast of 31 actors and 5 supporting cast members hail from five towns and three congregations: Calvary UMC, St. Mary’s, and St. Anne’s Roman Catholic Churches.
Calvary United Methodist Church is located at 185 West Madison Ave. between Cooper St. and Prospect Avenue in Dumont. For more information, call the church at 201-384-3630 or go to Calvary185@verizon.net or www.calvarydumont.com.
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