 We're in tech for the simplest staging and most provocative piece of our theater festival, "Convergence of History: Four Anniversaries, One Faith."
So, I'm eager for and wary of how the audience will respond to "Freedom Song: The Amazing Grace/Uncle Tom Suite," the Reader's Theater piece Vikki and I are presenting Saturday, April 11 at the Schaumburg Township District Library. The reading begins at noon. Our time together, including the post-show Q & A, is an hour. Unless people want to hang out and keep talking. Given the racial, political, spiritual and emotional intensity of the last month -- not to mention the last 15 -- it may not seem wise to read excerpts of the novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin." in public. Yet, it's perhaps because of the current climate that we sense a different type of pertinence to this program. There are three discoveries we've made as we've woven the narrative of John Newton's transformation from slave-trader to the pastor who composed "Amazing Grace" that we believe will make this hour worth attending: 1) The intriguing way Newton came to experience "grace" as an act of God to be replicated, not just discussed and sung about. 2) How author Harriet Beecher Stowe was affected by the lyrics to the extent she was to use them and adapt her own as an integral element in her novel's storyline and the protagonist's decisions. 3) That Stowe's prologue and epilogue, which we highlight in our adaptation, are a more frightening message to the those who claim Christian faith in the United States in 2026 as when she penned them in 1852. Her message, in the same vein as Frederick Douglass' speech, "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?", challenges professed Christians to live the tenets of the Christ rather than leveraging selected passages to justify personal positions. This last discovering surprised us because, a) because we didn't include them when we created the script in 2019; b) I only found these passages after last Saturday's rehearsal when Vikki and I felt a section of the script needed more context. Reading Stowe's bookending words was a gift of grace. And a plus of Reader's Theater. We're hopeful you will grace us with your presence Saturday. We have no agenda other than to entertain, educate, equip and empower Safe-Faith Conversations and a closer living the grace of The LORD God. Yes, we still have seats: tinyurl.com/GraceTom2026
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 Irving Berlin, composer of a beloved American patriotic hymn. In the same week our nation honored fallen military personnel who sacrificed their lives to protect liberties such as freedom of religion, speech and the remaining Bill of Rights, a court decision in New York sparked cries that “this is a bad day for America.”
We agree, these are bad days for America, but not because of that verdict. Responses to the verdict across the nation further illustrated divisions in the U.S. that seem to grow wider daily, regardless of topic. Politics is least among them. As we rehearse the songs and Scripture content of our newest show, “Freedom Suite: Juneteenth, July Fourth, The Gospel,” we’re affected by the parallels between “bad days” in American history and those of the Israelites and Judeans recorded in the Old Testament books Kings and Chronicles. Amid headlines of court cases, violence, tornadic weather, wars and rumors of wars, we often hear, read or cry out, “God, Bless America.” Before this was a jingoist slogan, the phrase was a beloved song, written by Irving Berlin, an immigrant, a Jewish composer born in Russia, whose surname translates to the name of Germany’s capital. This parallel is among the ironies we highlight in “Freedom Suite.”  By Michael Edgar Myers Founding Artistic Director Among the many ironies of Christian faith and Biblical study is the volume of attention given to what Christians are against and the number of Scripture verses that prohibit behaviors. A high percentage of these negative viewpoints are among Christian church leaders, traditionally and currently. This negativity creates two consequences that undermine the true essence of the religion of Jesus.
The saddest effect of those consequences – by Christians -- is that they impede progress of Jesus’ mandate to make disciples of all nations, and teach them what He has commanded. Where this impact is most notable in the U.S. is among youth, people of color, and women.
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