We are so excited to begin our 5 week tour!

We are so blessed and excited that our “Wilde Award” nominated musical, The Cross and the Light, is now touring as a Spectacular Musical Concert and Digital Media Experience with 21 performances in five churches within the Archdiocese of Detroit running April 16 – May 16, 2015.

Seven incredible singers will take you on a deeply moving musical journey of Christ’s Passion to Pentecost. Audiences will experience WHO Jesus is, WHAT he has done for us, and HOW we are now called to live! We hope you will be able to attend, and more importantly we pray that you bring friends, family and co-workers. It’s an easy way to evangelize! And the invitation can change hearts and change lives.

“It’s a great tool in the New Evangelization!”

The Most Reverend Arturo Cepeda, STL, STD

Director of Evangelization, Catechesis, and Schools in the Archdiocese of Detroit

 

“(This production)…is exactly what Saint John Paul II meant when he used the term the New Evangelization. It’s a bridge between where we are and where God wants us to be.”

Father Charles Fox, Priest in the Archdiocese of Detroit & Spiritual Director of Living Faith

The Cross and the Light is more than just a “show,” it becomes a profound encounter with the unconditional love and mercy of Jesus Christ. The message is directed at the hearts of those in the audience, to move them to act, to make a decision, to repent, and to accept the love of God offered to us in Jesus Christ.

The Cross and the Light is not a “one and done” event. It’s a “Baptism of the Imagination”, a pre-evangelization tool that provides people with a powerful encounter, but it can’t end there! Churches must be prepared to embrace and welcome those who have encountered Christ in this powerful way by providing prayer teams after the performance to pray with people, to offer spiritual direction, and to connect them with vibrant evangelization courses like Alpha for Catholics, Encounter, Revive, and others designed to help deepen their faith. We are again, blessed and honored to be partnering with the Archdiocese of Detroit Department of Evangelization, Catechesis, and Schools in this important effort of evangelization! A big shout out to Father Eduardo Montemayor, Chris Gawel, and his incredible team!

In addition, the AOD and St. Paul Street Evangelization have partnered to provide Evangelization Training Courses for all our wonderful volunteers. Five trainings are being conducted throughout the AOD this week and last. The course includes basic evangelization training focusing on how to effectively evangelize to others before and after the show and in their everyday lives.

We need a “wow” factor to meet our young people where they’re at, to speak to them in their own language as St. Paul taught us to do over 2000 years ago. We need to utilize music, visuals, digital imagery, and sound effects to engage them in the experience. Unless a young person has truly encountered Our Lord, we can’t expect them to connect with Christ or His Passion by standing in front of a plague on a church wall!

All five senses must be immersed in His story! Our young people need to see Jesus’ fear, his pain on the cross. They need to hear the whips and the pounding of the nails through Our Lord’s hands and feet. They need to smell the torches, the incense, and the bread being prepared for the Last Supper. They need to feel the weight of the nails used to crucify Christ, and they need to touch the gruesome crown of thorns made for the King of Kings by his people. The only sense we haven’t been able to figure out is taste. How do feed 15,000 people bread and herbed lamb? Hmmmm….I’ll have to really pray on this one!

The Concert Experience is produced with seven singers, compared to the 65 cast members you need in the Musical. But don’t worry! If you love The Cross and the Light music, our singers will be performing the same 24 songs but playing multiple character roles. For instance, the same actor who plays “Judas” will also play “Pontius Pilate” and the Singing Soldier. It’s awesome to see their character transformation.

Another dramatic difference is the set. We can’t set up our Broadway-style set in every church, so we had to think outside the box. That’s when we found Environmental Projection. We will be using three, high-powered projectors to transform the walls of your church into a virtual canvas, 150 feet wide by 30 feet high, that surrounds people in the beauty of creation, the majesty of music, and the wonder of God. It is truly a “baptism of the imagination.” Imagine as the Apostles are waiting in a candlelit Upper Room after Jesus’ ascension. They begin to sense something strange. As they look around, they hear strange sounds as the Holy Spirit begins to descend upon them. And then…the walls of the church explode into flames, 150 foot wide by 30 feet high. You talk about a great way to remember Pentecost! Our young people will be saying “Dude, this is awesome!” And that’s what they deserve!! Our God is awesome, and they have to experience HIM like a fire that consumes them! Again – I say this. Our young people deserve better, and it’s time we start sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with the zeal and ardor of the first Apostles! That is the NEW EVANGELIZATION!

I hope you will come and support our efforts to bring a tidal wave of conversion to the people of the Detroit Archdiocese! May God bless you!

Kelly