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Kristen Spekhardt, 13 years old, has been thinking about some big questions.
The Bangor girl doesn’t belong to any particular church, but last weekend she went to a multimedia show at Glenburn Evangelical Covenant Church and started to get some answers.
She is exactly the kind of person WWJD Creative Ministries wants to reach.
The 10-year-old group’s initials ask the question, “What would Jesus do?” and its performances are designed to promote Christianity as something accessible to young people.
To accomplish that, the Lincoln-based troupe uses music, video, puppets, dance and sign language.
Spekhardt attended the show with a friend, Clacy Strout, 14, of Bangor. “I liked the very unique way that they did everything,” said Spekhardt after the hourlong show. “It was easier to see things than if I sat down and read the book [the Bible]. It was easier to understand.”
The show that Spekhardt and Strout watched, “Legacy,” uses contemporary Christian music and music videos as a backdrop. A dozen performers, none of whom sing during the show, sign several songs and, in at least one number, use fabric and painted dowels to create crosses in a number of movements.
They also manipulate large hand puppets that “sing” and act as “the band” for various songs.
Members of the performing group range in age from 12 to 52. They represent various churches in the Lincoln area, although most attend First United Methodist Church in Lincoln. Training sessions are held at the Jacksonville Methodist Campground in Washington County each summer, and underage participants must sign a contract with their parents promising to make the hefty time commitment to touring.
For Jared Powers, 15, of Lincoln, who joined the troupe this spring after seeing a show last fall, the most rewarding part comes after it’s over.
“I like standing in the back of the church as people are leaving and listening to their comments, hearing how the show affected them,” said Powers, who attends the Maranatha Riverside Church in Lincoln. “Knowing that I’m praising God [by doing the show] means a lot to me too.”
The ministry began with a traditional puppet stage and a few homemade puppets at First Methodist in Lincoln, according to Andrew McCormick, the current leader of the group. For about five years, WWJD did puppet shows during services in its home church or for churches in the Lincoln area. When members of the troupe attended a puppetry conference five years ago in Chicago, they saw that the digital revolution could help their ministry grow and reach more people.
For the past four years, the group has produced two shows a year – one in the spring and one in the fall – that tours central and northern Maine.
This month, the group will give its first performance out of state, at a church in New Hampshire. The group accepts donations, but puts all the money it takes in back into the ministry to buy things such as lighting and sound equipment and puppets.
McCormick, 23, is a music major with a minor in theater at the University of Maine. He spent a year after high school touring with Up With People. He said that experience helped prepare him to lead WWJD, made up primarily of teenagers.
“With Up With People, I saw how those shows were put together to be toured,” he said. “I also worked with people from very different backgrounds and of different ages and levels of experience. Making the time commitment with college is sometimes difficult, but I definitely feel that I’m giving what I know back to God.”
McCormick writes two shows a year with his sister, Sara McCormick, 20, who is a new-media major at UM. While her brother essentially directs the show, she puts together the video portion of the program, using clips from music videos. Because WWJD is a nonprofit and does not charge admission, it does not believe it violates copyright laws, she said.
The most difficult part of putting the show together is finding a theme or title, according to Sara McCormick.
The theme of last fall’s show was “Common Ground.” Usually, when the organizers begin picking music, the theme “just comes to us.”
For her, the most moving piece in “Legacy” is the music video of Michael W. Smith’s, “This is Your Time.” The song is a tribute to Cassie Bernall, the student killed at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., reportedly because when she was asked by the shooters if she believed in God, she answered yes.
“It really shows someone’s legacy,” Sara McCormick said. “It’s really powerful.”
Sharing a 2,000-year-old message is why Christie Hanson, 14, of Lincoln has been involved in the ministry for four years.
“I love being able to take time out of the weekend to do something for Christ, something that changes people’s lives,” she said.
The troupe performs in nearly two dozen churches each year. The Rev. Gregory DuBois, pastor of the Glenburn church, said his congregation’s responsibility for the event involved preparing a meal for the ministry team and publicizing the event.
“The point of it all is to proclaim hope in Jesus Christ who gives our lives meaning and purpose,” said DuBois, 46, as the group packed up its equipment. “It’s not just their presentation. What they’re saying about hope is the real thing.
“Multimedia is where the society has gone in terms of communication,” DuBois said. “In particular, the style of music they use is popular with young people, so they listen to them. The content offers hope in a world that’s often confusing and pretty bleak.”
For information on WWJD Creative Ministries, call Andrew McCormick at 827-8046 or visit the Web site at www.wwjdministries.com.
WWJD Creative Ministries schedule of shows
May 14: Church of God, Mattawamkeag
May 15: United Baptist Church, Old Town
May 21: Pleasant Street UMC, Waterville
May 22: North Brewer-Eddington UMC, Eddington
May 28: First Congregational Church, Calais
May 29: Rochester UMC, Rochester, N.H.
All shows begin at 7 p.m.
Christie Hanson (far left), Desiree Lee and Jared Powers (right) use frames to make a point during “Legacy.”
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