Reflections by Rev. Joanne Anquist
This past week, September 9th, I celebrated 10 years at McDougall United. I came there first as pulpit supply, and then was called after my ordination. Becoming an ordained minister was the last step in my ministry for the church. When I look back on my 30 years of ministry, not just as an ordained minister, but the time I spent as a worship animator, and a youth leader, I am grateful for the relationships that have formed, and the ways I have seen God at work amongst the people. The Community of Christ is a powerful example of a caring community that will be there through thick and thin.
As a minister, I look for ways to build community. One of the best ways to build community has been to put on a play or musical. The first musical I directed was “It’s Cool in the Furnace” back when I was a member of St. David’s United in the Northwest. I thought it would be a one-off event, but then the music minister asked if I would conduct an “all-comers” choir. From there, one of the parents asked if we could do some music from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and I, being very naïve, insisted we would do the staged musical!
I learned a lot from that experience, most importantly how much we needed each other to pull off such a large production. One of the women in the church had a degree in fabric arts and she took over the costuming. Another had a theatre degree and she helped me understand the difference between musical theatre singing and choir singing. There was a dancer who stepped up to do choreography. One Mom was great at organization and marketing and she sold tickets for 3 sold out shows. There was a lawyer who loved to sing who played adult Joseph (we had a kid play the younger Joseph), children as young as 5 and 6 who were part of the chorus. The 12 brothers ranged in age from 10 – 50, and a computer science guitar playing folk singer played Pharoah in an Elvis costume.
It was a major effort by so many people. I often quoted Karl Marx saying “from each according to their ability to each according to their needs.” It was definitely a group endeavour. Through the experience, we all learned a lot about each other and what we brought to the team. But we also learned about ourselves and what we were capable of. I believe everyone can sing – some are better than others – but the goal in community theatre is to make you the best YOU can be, and that is a privilege as a director.
What was really lovely about the inter-generational aspect of the production was that parents and children got to “play” together. Too often, in our culture, we arrange things by age. Parents drive children to kids events, kids wait patiently for parents to finish their work. There are so few things where all ages are together working towards a common goal, supporting each other to be the best they can be. It is truly humbling for a parent to have their child teach them dance steps, or remind them of their lines!
Through that first musical, we formed a group called “The Genesis People” and over the next years, we put on a musical every year. We established deep relationships that translated into our commitment to the church. The whole community benefited from the “work” we did together. I have found, over the 30 years of musicals I have directed in all the churches I have served, that the community that comes to “play” together also prays and worships together.
I tell you this, because an opportunity to be part of another grand musical theatre adventure is coming up in our congregations. This December, the combined ministry will put on a production of “Scrooge” the musical. (FYI, this was one of the shows I directed back at St. David’s – they loved it!) It is an all ages event, so kids, teens, adults, seniors – all are welcome. You can come as a family, or an individual. Everybody gets a part and there is lots of chorus work so everyone gets to sing!
We decided not to do formal auditions this time, but just to come sing and read through the show, and then figure out what we would all like to do. There will be two performances, one at McDougall on December 13th (a fundraiser for Ogden United) and one show at Red Deer Lake on December 14th (a matinee).
Come join us on September 21st at McDougall at 12:15 to sing and read through “Scrooge!” and become a part of this community of players! Contact Joanne@mcdunited.com, or joanne@reddeerlakeuc.com for more information.
To learn more about Musical Theatre at McDougall, please visit our Theatre Webpage.