There’s something about Mary Mother of Jesus, other Bible women enduring figures of fascination

Jesus didn’t spend a lot of time with women. Stories in the Christian New Testament, however, tell of three – all named Mary – who inspired him.

On Sunday, the 83-year-old mother of a Bangor pastor will portray them in a one-woman show at the 10 a.m. service at Hammond Street Congregational Church.

Merciel Doty, whose son, the Rev. Mark Doty, is pastor of the church, wrote “The Three Marys” more than 20 years ago for a women’s Bible study group.

Her husband, the Rev. James Doty, is a retired United Methodist minister.

The couple now lives in Sebring, Ohio, but traveled extensively during their years in the ministry. They arrived in Bangor on Christmas Day for the holidays and to attend their granddaughter’s wedding.

In “The Three Marys,” Merciel Doty plays Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus; Mary Magdalene, the prostitute who discovered Jesus’ empty tomb; and Mary, the mother of Jesus.

Merciel Doty said last week that the only prop in her presentation is a scarf, which she uses as an apron, a shawl and a head scarf.

Among all the women in the Bible, the three Marys drew her attention, she said, not only because she found them inspirational, but because of what they meant to Jesus.

“These Marys are the ones that Jesus found inspirational, and the ones he addresses as human beings, not as throwaway people, as most women were in those days,” she said. “He encouraged women to be human beings in their own right.”

Over the years, Merciel Doty has performed the piece more times than she can count and answered many requests for scripts. She has brought the three women to life at the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem on several of the more than 20 tours she and her husband have led to the Holy Land.

She even published the piece in “For Heaven’s Sake,” the autobiography she and her husband published in 2000.

She and her son agree that Jesus’ relationship with women has not received enough attention.

“Jesus was constantly lifting up women,” said Mark Doty. “That’s been a focus of my own ministry – reaching out to those who are disadvantaged or get short shrift. In the past, I’ve done a sermon called ‘Three Wise Women,’ focused along the same lines as mother’s piece.

“Seeing my mother perform and seeing these women really brought to life is doubly powerful for me,” he said. “Seeing her interpret what they might have been like gives a fascinating view of 2,000 ago.”