Roll Back the Stone: Celebrating the Mystery of Lent and Easter Through Drama

Create memorable services that help worshipers experience the profound sadness of the crucifixion as well as the marvelous joy of the risen Christ with this diverse collection of ready-to-use dramatic material. With ample selections for Lent, Holy Week, and Easter, there's something special here for congregations of any size or worship style. Copying privileges are included for all segments. Included are:

• A Travesty Of Justice: In The Shadow Of The Cross (Kathy Martz), a series of six meditations in which an unusual assortment of "eyewitnesses" -- the thorn, robe, nail, spear, shroud, and stone -- tell about their extraordinary encounters with Jesus.

• Live From Jerusalem (John O. Eby), a short Palm Sunday play that helps audiences envision what it would have been like to be on the scene of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

• Maundy Thursday Testimonies (David H. Covington), a brief set of dramatic readings depicting the Passion events and their meaning from the viewpoint of four characters: Mary Magdalene, Thomas, Judas, and Peter.

• God On Trial, Or...? (John O. Eby), a courtroom drama for Good Friday that portrays Jesus' trial before Pilate -- with the novel twist of Beelzebub as the prosecutor, questioning several witnesses who level accusations against Jesus.

• Sons Of Thunder (Carol Secord), a brief Good Friday sketch in which James and John struggle to come to grips with the stark reality of the crucifixion.

• The Animals Learn The Meaning Of Easter (Will Rabert), a charming and humorous children's play with speaking parts for a narrator and 14 young people (each representing a different animal).

• M.I.H. -- Missing In Heaven (Frank Ramirez), an imaginative and engaging verse play in readers' theater format.

• Tongues Of Fire (Kenneth Carlson), a four-voice choral reading especially appropriate for Pentecost, which can also be used any time during the Easter season.

Kathy Martz is a former schoolteacher who combines a strong religious affiliation with professional training in psychology and education to produce creative, inspirational writings for a Christian audience. She is an active member of Christ Lutheran Church in Oakwood, Georgia, and is a graduate of Alma College and Oakland University.

John O. Eby has been an ordained pastor for four decades, serving several Baptist congregations in California. He is currently the pastor of First Baptist Church in Porterville, California. A graduate of the University of LaVerne and American Baptist Seminary of the West, Eby is the author of more than 30 skits and plays.

David H. Covington is an associate professor of English at North Carolina State University, specializing in professional writing and Victorian literature. An active member of the Kirk of Kildare (Presbyterian) in Cary, North Carolina, he is a graduate of the University of Florida (B.A.) and Vanderbilt University (M.A., Ph.D.).

Carol Secord is director of senior adult ministry at Rivermont Presbyterian Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee. A graduate of Auburn University, Secord has had three of her plays published by national distributors

Will Rabert is a retired United Church of Christ pastor who served congregations in Pennsylvania for nearly 40 years. He is the co-author of the children's play The Littlest Christmas Tree (CSS).

Frank Ramirez is senior pastor of Union Center Church of the Brethren near Nappanee, Indiana, and has served in the pastorate for over 30 years. He is the author of several books including Coming Home, A Call to Worship, and two volumes of the Immersion Bible Study series. Frank and his wife have three children and four grandchildren.

Kenneth Carlson is a professor of education at Rutgers. After serving as a teacher of secondary school in New York State, he earned his doctoral degree at the State University of New York, Buffalo. Among his publications is the book, Radical Ideas and the Schools, and a variety of journal publications on educational topics. Carlson was principal investigator on a three-year National Institute of Education study of compensatory education; he has also conducted research on urban schools and on issues of educational equity, sexism, and censorship. He has served as associate dean for teacher education, president of the state council of the American Association of University Professors, and as chair of the Rutgers University Senate.