Territorial music groups, Rolling Hills Covenant Church partner for the performance.
By Vivian Lopez –
Art will come to life during the Commissioning 2018 weekend at the Pasadena Convention Center, as Salvation Army Western Territory music groups and Rolling Hills Covenant Church partner to present Pageant of the Gospel June 9 in Pasadena, California.
Pageant of the Gospel is a unique artistic experience in which live people are incorporated into recreated famous paintings and sculptures that depict biblical scenes.
The theatrical presentation originated at Rolling Hills Covenant Church over 30 years ago.
“Rolling Hills Covenant Church has a show where they use music and they allow the congregation to just see this beautiful artwork,” said Martin Hunt, Assistant Secretary for Program. “So we’ve taken that and we’re creating an evening show, program and worship experience that takes characters from the Bible and shows some of the stories they were involved in.”
The artwork to be showcased will include scenes depicting Jesus helping Peter out of the water when he was trying to walk on it, Jesus inviting the little children to come over to him, and Jesus at the well with the Samaritan woman.
“We’re recreating those stories to encourage our congregation to understand the Bible better,” Hunt said.
Music and dance performances, as well as multimedia presentations, will accompany the live artwork. Rolling Hills Covenant Church is providing the artwork and actors that will be inside the sculptures and paintings, and territorial music groups are providing the music and theatrical performances.
“It’s an experience,” Hunt said. “The audience should expect challenging Bible stories and teachings. They should expect great music and emotion.”
Hunt also believes attendees will be wowed by the beauty of the artwork and how people are incorporated in each piece.
It’s a new way for them to experience some of the stories that are in the Bible,” Hunt said. “We hope they will then be challenged to reread those stories, and then continue to share and evangelize about the truths in the gospel.”
Find tickets to Pageant of the Gospel and more at Commissioning 2018 at events.usawest.org.