A New Corpus Christi Plays for Churches

In the tradition of the medieval cycle plays performed throughout Europe for education, enrichment, and entertainment, A New Corpus Christi presents 25 short plays and skits with one or two scripts for each of 21 events in the church year--festival days such as Christmas and Easter and less frequently observed occasions such as the Baptism of the Lord and Christ the King Sunday. The plays relate thematically to readings in the Revised Common Lectionary, a three-year cycle that touches on the most significant portions of the Bible. The scripts present a wide variety. Some of them have a celebratory mode that enhances the worship experience while others are more open-ended in the nature of problem plays. Some are liturgical dramas that assume the presence of choirs, musical instruments, and/or singing congregations, while others call for no worship setting accouterments. Some plays touch on biblical stories and others make no overt religious references. Some of the plays make an obvious point, and some are very open-ended. The scripts in A New Corpus Christi might also be used outside the Sunday morning worship service as discussion starters for Sunday school classes or small groups. And some of the plays might be grouped together as programs on particular topics such as poverty and homelessness, death and dying, self examination, or extended seasons such as Lent or Holy Week. In addition to churches, the book also provides a resource for university and seminary courses in liturgics and worship" --