Apr 26, 2019
By Jane Mackintosh
Conference President
Since we are in Lancaster, PA, where Sight and Sound is, our crack Host Committee has secured preliminary tickets for those who want to secure a seat at this amazing spectacle of Godly theater. If you have never experienced a Sight and Sound show, I would recommend this as an unbelievable experience you will never forget. It is an amazing musical experience, with world class actors/musicians, in the largest theater I have ever seen. It has to be large—because I can just about guarantee you will experience the wise men on the road to Bethlehem coming down the aisles right beside your seat on live camels! I am also sure there will be live animals at the manger scene and I would guess you will see Jesus enter the theater twice on a donkey: first, in the tummy of Mary on the way to Bethlehem; and second, on the road into Jerusalem with the palms waving and shawls thrown on the floor of the aisles as He comes right beside you in the procession of children crying, “Hosanna, blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the Lord.” The Bible comes to life in this glorious theater and you get to be there praising God with them. Unbelievable and so moving. There will be transportation to and from the theater from the campus—so it will be a wonderful afternoon.
If you choose not to do this, Lancaster is in the heart of Amish country and you will have an afternoon to explore it on your own. There are amazing restaurants and buggy rides by Amish drivers around the area where you can visit Amish farms, ask questions of your gracious drivers, and possibly see the largest dairy cows this girl has ever seen. I am not exactly a city girl, so I have seen a cow or two in my day, but not ones whose back side is about the height of my 6’2” husband! I had to chuckle about the accommodations of these small herds. Of course the Amish do not use electricity or drive motor vehicles—thus the sweltering summer heat can get a bit much in their homes and fields. But there are huge fans running in the barn to keep the flies from pestering these cows and to keep them cool—where all they do is eat, drink, stand around doing nothing, and live in relative opulence, while their owner works sunup to sundown to provide for their needs and the needs of his family. The crafts of these amazing people also impressed me; so of course I had to bring home a wooden Amish candy dispenser that my grandchildren adore, plus an amazing wooden creche of many pieces that all came in a cute little wooden box. So there are many ways to enjoy a different culture and to enjoy a world class Christian experience in the Sight and Sound theater.
Back at Conference, one of the experiences in worship we will have is choreographed worship dancers, of many ages, coming down the aisles. Julia Coleman, from Shiloh, NJ, is leading this with teams from different churches participating. (I am hoping my Ugandan granddaughters and my eldest granddaughter, who all have some years of dance training, will be part of this). I believe a team from Washington, D.C., will be dancing, and hopefully, one from Miami also. There will be women, kids and hopefully some men, in this troupe. If you have contemporary dance experience and would like to be a part of this, and it is something you have dreamed of, contact me by email at grandmamack@comcast.net and I will forward your info to Julia who will contact you.
I hope to see you in Lancaster, PA, July 28-August 3 this summer.
PEOPLE GET READY!
