This is the script to the Martyrs Project as presented at MCUSA in KC in July, 2015. If you have interest in using this, please contact me for information
Narrator stands to side of the chancel. Actor wears all black and wears portable microphone. Chancel consists of 3 simple passages or doors standing in a line in declining size. At the foot of the line of doors is a simple stand with a row of candles in sand and a solitary (God) lit candle. Reader stands to stage right slightly elevated. A lone straight, wooden chair sits up stage, stage left. The Actor is seated on the chair.
Reader:
Now, hear this from the word of the Lord!
Joel 1:2-3
"Hear this, O elders, give ear, all inhabitants of the land! Has such a thing happened in your days, or in the days of your ancestors? Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation."
Introduction read by the narrator
The word martyr conjures up for us visions of great commitment but also great suffering. Martyrdom can be easily misunderstood. During this time together today we will think of those who, because of their beliefs and their steadfast adherence to their interpretation of the call of Christ, lost their lives. These individuals did not seek any harm to any other human being. They did not die inflicting pain and suffering on others. In addition, they did not seek to die. These are not individuals who believed that death was a door to life. Quite the contrary, they enjoyed life and sought to make it better. Most of them would have been happy to flee if given the chance.
As Mennonites, we have a history that includes and sometimes celebrates martyrdom. We have a whole book about thousands of those who died in the early years of the Reformation. These individuals died at the hands of local authorities both because they questioned the Christian assumptions of that day but also because they resisted the established social order. They questioned the status-quo and sought new answers for themselves. However, the stories in Martyr’s Mirror are not the whole story. It did not end in the 1500’s.
Today we will hear from several martyrs over several centuries that we hope will help us focus on first, their lives but also our own lives and the commitments and choices that we make.
Reader:
Psalm 34:4
I sought the Lord's help and the Lord answered me and set me free from all my fears. Those who look upon the Lord are radiant with joy; they will never be put out of countenance.
Musician: Plays an improvisation of the melody to "There is More Love Somewhere"
During the music above actor stands up and turns the pages in the “book” lying on a stand. The actor proceeds to pass through all three doors. In second door he picks up a stole and puts it around his neck and proceeds through the third door and speaks:
Archbishop Oscar Romero (humble, quiet, apologetic)
. Muy Buenos Dias, hermanos y hermanas in Cristo. Mi nombre es Óscar Arnulfo Romero
I am so honored to be here with you today. Certainly, I do not deserve to be here but I am glad to tell you my story and maybe some good may come of it. I was born in El Salvador in 1917 and from an early age, I was determined to become a priest. It was something that I felt called to do. Although I came from a rather poor and uneducated family, I found a way to go to seminary and eventually I was given the honor to study in Rome at the Holy Sea. It was a wonderful education and opportunity for me to grow as a follower of Christ. During WWII, I was summoned to return to El Salvador where I served as a parish priest for 20 years. I was very happy and quite content to serve the people of my parish and my God at the same time. Now, as I reflect back, I regret to say that I was very content with the orderliness of society.
On February 23, 1977, I was surprised and deeply honored to be called to the role of Archbishop of San Salvador. The government was very happy and proud that such a quiet pastor would become Archbishop. I was well received by all in the church and in the government. However, it came as a heavy burden to me. You see, I was becoming very uncomfortable with the church that had been giving silent support to a government that was more and more oppressive to its own people. And yet, I wondered how to respond and many nights I asked my God, “what should I do?”
Well, a few weeks later a dear friend and fellow priest was tragically assassinated for his work with the poor. He was a Jesuit and a student of a new theology called liberation theology. As I looked down on his body, I told myself "if they have killed him for doing what he did, then I too have to walk the same path." And so, I felt called to begin to question the social order of El Salvador and the role of the church. I felt compelled to speak out for the poor and disenfranchised.
A religion of Sunday Mass but of unjust weeks
does not please the Lord.
A religion of much praying but with hypocrisy in the heart
is not Christian.
A church that sets itself up only to be well off,
to have a lot of money and comfort,
but that forgets to protest injustices,
would not be the true church of our divine Redeemer.
I was happy serving my people in El Salvador and raising my own small voice against the injustices visited upon them. The government, on the other hand, was less and less happy.
The actor moves toward and stands next to narrator
Narrator: Archbishop Oscar Romero was assassinated on March 24, 1980 while celebrating mass at La Divina Providencia Hospital. No one claimed responsibility and no one was ever charged in his death although the government of El Salvador offered an apology years later. On May 22, 2015, Archbishop Romero was beatified by the Catholic church for his unwavering commitment to the poor and dispossessed of El Salvador.
The actor turns removes the stole and places it over one of the arms of the door, Narrator takes a candle and lights it from the "GOD candle" Actor moves upstage.
Reader:
Isaiah 40:28-31
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth….
The Lord gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Musician: Plays an improvisation of the melody to "There is More Love Somewhere"
During the music above, actor turns the next page of the book and then passes through all three doors. In second door, pauses and picks up a hat and puts it on and proceeds through the third door and speaks:
Dirk Willems (brave, confident, unafraid, daring, adventurous, bold)
I am Dirk Willems. I was born in Asperen, The Netherlands and baptized as an infant into the state church. However, as a very young man, I became interested in this new thinking that allowed adults to make a free decision to follow Christ and to interpret his teachings for themselves. I was more than ready to be done with the old state-church model that enforced belief; demanded a few of our coins and a nod of quiet support. The idea of an active faith and a non-violent life appealed to me. To me, it seemed to fit with what Christ had taught.
I became a follower of the Anabaptists and I saw the power in believing that we must seek to love and be at peace with everyone. This was new. This excited my imagination and I wanted to be a part of it. For that belief, I was arrested and put into the prison at my own home town
One day, I had the opportunity to escape and I took it gladly and fled down the side of the prison and across the lake. It was late spring and the ice was not solid. Fortunately, for me, I had been so starved during my prison days that I was very light and could safely cross the ice. I made it clear across to the dry land and was headed quickly to safety.
However, my pursuer was not so lucky. You see, he was well–fed and the ice broke under his weight and he was in danger of drowning. So, he called out to me for help.
And so I found that I had to stop, turn and
look right into the eyes of my own pursuer
My words about
Discipleship and love
had to become actions.
I pivoted on that ice
and my life was pivoting with me
I saw a man who
Was going to drown without my hand
And I gave it to him
The actor moves toward and stands next to narrator
Narrator: Dirk Willems was taken back to prison where he remained for several months locked in stocks in a bell tower high above the church bell. He was taken to the stake on May 16, 1569. It is said that the executioners bungled his execution and it took extra amount of time for him to die. The executioners were derided by the local populace gathered to watch the dramatic spectacle.
Actor removes hat and hangs it from the arm of the smallest door, Narrator lights a small candle from the God candle and places it in the sand. Actor moves upstage.
Reader:
from the 78th Song of the Ausbund by Christof Baumann pre 1565 while imprisoned, Landshut Bavaria Translated 1720
We give God praise and honor, to God alone is the glory. While we have life, help us O God my Lord! Respond to our lament, look upon your children; we are imprisoned and tortured, banished from every land – My God! Attend to us!
.
Musician: Plays an improvisation of the melody to "There is More Love Somewhere"
Actor turns the next page and passes through all three doors. At the second door, he picks up moccasins and passes through the final door and begins to speak.
Benjamin Marie Petit, (servant, insightful, sad)
Bon Jour amis dans le Christ, my dear fellow Christians of Northern America my humble greetings to you. I come to you in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. Amen. I was French by birth and was a, if I may so, a dedicated student becoming a lawyer. However, I found that I was more drawn to the service of the church and entered the Seminary after only 3 years in law practice.
I was very devout and committed to the church. Eventually, I was recruited to come to northern Indiana as a young priest to serve as a missionary to the Potawatomi Indians living there. Now the Pottawatomie had a very tragic and sad history with the State of Indiana and the United States government. As a lawyer, I was dismayed to learn of an entire history of treaties; many of which appeared to have scant authority or authenticity. It tore at my heart as a priest, as a lawyer and as a fellow human being.
Actor has moved to stage right and sits on empty chair, removes shoes and socks and places moccasins on his feet and stands up
I learned their customs and their culture and I lived among them for I was their servant. They said of me that "we were orphans and as if in darkness, but you appeared among us like a great light and we live." I would have gladly said the same for them. These were Christian people who sought only good relations with their neighbors. In fact, many of them pledged that even if they were evicted from their ancestral lands, they would not resist.
The governor of Indiana wanted their land for the new immigrants to farm the fertile soil of northern Indiana including around their beloved homes on the Wabash and Elkhart Rivers. So, the militia rounded them up and started them on a march to the Kansas territory. Since these people had been my flock, I begged my bishop to allow me to join them even though it was a great risk for our diocese and for me and he finally relented. I hurried to catch up with them at Danville, Illinois. I marched with them as one of them. I buried their dead every night. I recited the rosary and comforted them as they marched in terrible conditions and under constant threat. The conditions were unbearable and without relent. These people were my people and I was there to serve them.
The actor moves toward and stands next to narrator
Narrator: Once they arrived near what is now Olathe, KS, Father Petit continued to try to minister to the Potawatomi but he became very ill from the harsh conditions of the march. He attempted to return to Indiana to recover but only made it as far as St. Louis, MO where he died and was buried.
Actor removes moccasins and places them beside the doorway, Narrator lights candle and places it in the sand. Actor moves up stage.
Reader:
Stanza 14 of Hymn #40 of the Ausbund
O God, in all Thy Majesty;
Hear Thou our
Prayer most graciously.
Because we suffer anxiety, stress,
Do not desert us;
Increase our patience
Through Thy Son, our Captain;
To whom be honor and glory …
Amen
Musician: Plays an improvisation of the melody to "There is More Love Somewhere"
Actor stands and turns page and passes through doors and in second door picks up bonnet and puts it around shoulders stings handing in front and passes through final door and begins to speak:
Maeyken Wens, (simple, loving, committed)
Good afternoon my friends. My name is Maeyken Wens. I am so happy to be with you here together today. For me, this is the true church; people gathered together. I was never a learned woman and I spent my time caring for my family that included my husband and my dear, dear children. My friends sometimes could say that I was a bit of a curious soul and I suppose they might have been right. For when I heard others speaking of a new way to think; one that would give each individual a way to know God, I was very interested. My husband had converted to this new way of Anabaptism and so I had heard much about it. I found it to be so powerful that even as a mother of 5 children, I risked everything to learn more.
Well, one day in early 1573, I was with 3 other women. We were just praying together. I suppose you might understand how wonderful it is for a group of women to share with each other. We truly had no desire to confront anyone but, we were caught and thrown into a very bad prison. The people there were suffering very much.
The priests and civilian authorities came to us several times but we would not give up the beliefs that we held. Do you think we should have? Our children, our families….. They might have let us go, it is hard to say. They were very determined men and quite self assured about their mission to put a stop to this Anabaptist thinking.
I was a mother and a wife and I missed my dear children very much. I wrote them several letters from prison. .
"This, I, your mother, have written, while I was in prison for the Word of the Lord; the good Father grant you His grace, my son Adriaen. Write me a letter as to what your heart says, whether you desire to fear the Lord; this I should like to know. But you must write it better than the last two letters were written; the one which Maeyken Wils brought however was good."
You know, just because you know you will be a martyr, doesn’t mean you quit being a mother.
Actor moves toward and stands next to narrator.
Narrator: Maekeyn Wens was martyred on October 6, 1573. Her son Adrien could not stay away and came to see his mother for the last time. He fainted and only regained consciousness after the flames had died down. He searched in the ashes for some sign of his mother and found only the tongue screw that was put on her so that she could not testify to her faith while dying for it.
Actor hangs up bonnet and moves up stage and sits down
Singer sings "Pie Jesu"
Reader:
Isaiah 43:1-3
But now, this is what the Lord says….
Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine,
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;
The flames will not set you ablaze.
For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour.
Musician: Plays an improvisation of the melody to "There is More Love Somewhere"
Actor turns page and passes through doors. In second door picks up a cape and passes through the final door and begins to speak.
Michael Sattler (arrogant, confident, educated)
Greetings, my fellow brethren and sisters in Christ. I am Michael Sattler. I was born around 1490 in Germany and I was a rather gifted child and became a very learned individual. I was a Benedictine monk in the abbey of St Peter and I rose to the level of prior and enjoyed great esteem and influence. Frankly, I enjoyed my position and the power that I wielded.
In May of 1525, the monastery was overrun by peasant troops from the German Peasants War. I was shaken by this and somewhat disillusioned by the response of the church. I was so confused that I left in search of a more personal faith with the Anabaptists. I actually married a former nun and we fled to Zurich. Now, I was a debater and I felt strongly about my convictions. Many in the early Anabaptist movement did not totally agree with me but I was steadfast and invited them always to debate and to find the truth together.
One of my strong convictions was in the sacraments and especially that of baptism. Can you imagine, that not all Christians or even all Anabaptists agreed! I was expelled from Zurich by Zwingli's protestant troops and went to Strasbourg and stayed with Wolfgang Capito. Now there was an interesting man! In your day, he would be called a humanist and so our discussions were interesting and challenging but at the end of each day, we always referred to each other as "beloved brothers under God."
In February of 1527, I along with other Anabaptists north of Zurich drafted the Schlietheim Confession which later was seen as the founding document of the Mennonite church. It was a radical break from the Roman and emerging Protestant churches. These articles were widely circulated and were seen as an attempt to break apart the church but they helped solidify our beliefs around baptism, the local churches, and the use of the sword and the swearing of oaths. Zwingli and Protestant leaders were very offended by the Schlietheim articles and my wife and I were arrested in March. We were imprisoned along with about a dozen other believers.
Actor moves toward and stands next to narrator
Narrator: The civil and religious authorities debated for some time on what to do with Sattler and this group of troublemakers. There was much concern that the sentence seem legitimate. In the end, Sattler and his wife were tried and convicted. Sattler was chosen for extra torture prior to his death.
Actor removes cape and hangs it on the door. Narrator lights a candle and places it in the sand. Actor moves upstage.
Reader:
A Hutterite prayer in honor of the 80 Hutterian brethren of Austria condemned to galley slavery, 1540
O God in heaven look out upon the misery of thy poor people in these last days on earth. Have mercy on them and help them for thy holy name's sake, for thou has laid upon them the task of confession. Holy Father strengthen and enable thy people; fight for them and be their captain. Let them be heartily commended by thee. O Holy Father….hold them in thy strong hand….and lead them into thy truth.
Musician: Plays an improvisation of the melody to "There is More Love Somewhere"
Actor turns page and passes through doors. In second door, he picks up a cap and possibly a hammer and passes through third door and begins to speak.
Daniel Gerber (nice, young, committed, altruistic, casual, enthusiastic)
Hi everyone. I’m glad to come here today. It’s really great! To see you all gathered together!
My name is Daniel Amstutz Gerber. Yup, with a name like that, I guess you know where I came from! Some of you probably even know my cousins and family. I was born in August 1940. I attended Kidron Mennonite Church and graduated from Dalton High School in 1958. Like lots of my friends, I attended Hesston College and Goshen College and in 1962, when I was 21 and getting ready to leave college, I decided to serve a three-year term with MCC, you know, Mennonite Central Committee. I wanted to give some sort of service and as a CO without a deferment; I needed to find a position that would allow me to meet both my Mennonite expectations and my draft requirements.
I was offered a job at a leprosarium in Vietnam; a country at war with the help of the United States. It was a war that seemed so unnecessary. I wanted to give some sort of positive answer to all the violence. It was felt that we were relatively safe since the Montagnard tribespeople respected our mission. My family was very worried for me but as I wrote in my application for MCC service "Christ taught us love and that is what his children must do." I was assigned to do maintenance work at the hospital that served over 1000 patients both inside and outside the compound. I met a girl and we fell in love and, yes, I got up enough nerve to ask her to marry me. Ruth and I were very happy to serve the Vietnamese people and to look forward to our lives together. We had loads of ideas and dreams for our future.
On May 30, 1962 a local bridge that led into our village was burned. There was a threatening sign left to not fix it. However, the village people depended on it for their existence and it was decided that I should work on fixing it. I was glad to do it.
Actor moves toward and stands next to narrator
Narrator: That night a dozen Viet Cong soldiers came into the compound bound Daniel's hands and led him out. They returned and brought out 2 other prisoners. His finance watched all of this and endured an hour of threats. The three of them were led away and were never found.
Actor turns and puts cap on one of the arms of the final door and lays hammer beside door and moves upstage. Narrator lights a candle and places it in the sand.
Reader:
from text by John Bell and Graham Maule, 1987
Will you come and follow me
If I but call your name?
Will you go where you don't know
And never be the same?
Will you let my love be shown?
Will you let my name be known?
Will you let my life be grown in you ?
Will You let me answer prayer in you
And admit to what I mean in you
And you in me?
Musician: "There is More Love Somewhere"
Actor turns page and passes through doors. In second door, he picks up large book and passes through third door, and begins to speak
Felix Manz (young, spirited, seeker, rebel, friend)
Good morning, my fellow Anabaptists. I am Felix Manz. I was born in 1498 to a single mother who lived near the Grossmunster in Zurich Switzerland. My father was one of the priests and he secretly visited us frequently. I grew up in very comfortable surroundings and I had a happy childhood living with my mother. Now, the Grossmunster was a very famous and beautiful church and Huldrych Zwingli became the head priest there just as I was becoming interested in learning more about the Christian faith. I was a true follower of Zwingli who also questioned many aspects of the Roman church and he was already becoming a leader in a new wing of the church that you now call Protestant. There were many engaging theological discussions and ideas were always being shared; it was a great time to be alive.
Actor moves down steps closer to congregation
One night there was a group of four of us gathered at the home of my mother. We were discussing these new ideas and concepts about the church that seemed to feel so right. We were excited to think about making our own choice to live as Christians and to be non-violent; seeking to serve others as Christ had done. We already knew that even Zwingli would not go as far as we wanted to go but we could not resist the thrill of opening up new ways for ourselves. Ideas just swarmed around the room and the air was thick with excitement. Suddenly, George looked up and said, "Conrad Grebel, would you baptize me?" Conrad was silent. He was taken aback since they both knew how dangerous this might be. But we were together and the spirit seemed to be moving us so Conrad baptized George and he, in turn baptized the rest of us. This was January 21, 1525.
Actor moves back up steps.
Zwingli was not happy with what he saw as insurrection and asked the town council to condemn us. It seemed that he wanted the civil authorities to discipline us for our new faith and practices. We were caught and imprisoned many times with grave threats including starvation. At times we were let out; other times we escaped only to be recaptured later. But we persevered until I was caught the final time on January 5, 1527.
Actor moves toward and stands next to narrator
.
Narrator: Upon Felix's final imprisonment, the authorities wrote, " because he confessed ….that he wanted to gather those who wanted to accept Christ and follow Him, and unite himself with them through baptism….and were about to raise up and prepare a sect of their own under the guise of a Christian meeting and church; because he had condemned capital punishment, and …. since such doctrine is harmful to the unified usage of all Christendom, and leads to offense, insurrection, and sedition against the government, …. and civil cooperation and to all evil, Manz shall be delivered to the executioner." Felix Manz was drowned in Lake Zurich at 3:00PM while his family shouted support and encouragement from the other side.
Actor turns and leaves the book at the door. Narrator lights a candle and places it in the sand. Actor moves upstage.
Reader:
from a poem by Dallas Weibe
They are marching on in us.
In our squabbling; in our schisms.
In our refusals of each other;
In our refusal of the world.
And in our persistent religious democracy….
The radiance of the Anabaptists
Still shines out in our lives
When we say to those about us,
Not us friends, not us.
Musician: Plays an improvisation of the melody to "There is More Love Somewhere"
Actor stands and turns page and moves through first door. In second door, he picks up a shoulder bag and places it over his shoulders and begins to speak.
James Earl Chaney (quiet, determined, resigned)
Hello, the name is Chaney, James Earl Chaney; born in Meridian, MS on May 30, 1943.
My parents were Fanny and Ben Chaney, Sr. They were good people; specially Momma. I was one of 5 children. Now, we were poor. We were a poor Negro family in southern Mississippi. That meant that we had only enough to keep alive and nothin to spare. But, we were happy and stuck together. We had enough to eat and ‘nugh to go round.
Well, my mother had big hopes for the future and she always said, “just keep your heads down and your minds high.” She was like that. They sent us to a Catholic school for Negro children. I enjoyed that school and even tho I was shy and hardly spoke any words, I was the captain of the basketball and football teams. I was an altar boy at church where I heard a lot about Jesus and I learned all I could. Really, all I wanted was to get out of that town some day.
By accident really I met some folks from CORE, that’s the Congress of Racial Equality, and I started to work some for them. And I was good for them. I knew how to move around white folks who, uh, treated me more like a alley cat than someone who actually heard what they was talkin about.
Then, this man named Michael Schwerner came by one day and talked about starting Freedom Schools. His idea was that Negro children deserved to have a better education and that summer reading programs would make a difference. He was all fired up.
He seemed to make sense and so we started one at the Mt. Zion Methodist Church. But soon after a whole crowd of white people; good Christian folks I suppose, burned that church down and beat up some of the folks there. The next day Michael and Andrew Goodman and I went out to see what had happened. We were lookin to help.
While we was out there we got pulled over and locked in the jail for several hours. Now, you may not know this but getting in the hands of the law in Mississippi in 1964 was not a safe thing. That’s jus how it was. Maybe its changed in your day.
Well, we were surprised when they left us out a jail late that night and we hightailed it out of town cause we knew that 2 Jews and a black man was not going to be safe in Philadelphia, Mississippi. But we were soon stopped by police cars and a group of white men who took us off down Rock Cut Road.
As we went down that road, I knew what was comin and that I was goin to get the worst of it but that none of us was goin back home. That’s just the way it was in 1964. In a way I felt more sorry for the 2 white boys next to me who still believed that they could make those preachers and deputies listen to their words with all their talk of laws and rights. For me, I just thought, Momma, I’m sure sorry, my mind is high but I didn’t keep my head low enough.
. Actor moves toward and stands next to narrator
Narrator: The bodies of the three workers were not found for 44 days. During that search 7 bodies of black men were found who had been victims of unreported murders in Neshoba County.
Actor turns and places bag at the door. Narrator lights a candle and places it with the others. Actor moves upstage.
Reader:
Text by Julian Rush, adapted
In the midst of new dimensions,
In the face of changing ways,
Through the flood of waring factions,
We are man; We are woman.
All persuasions, Young and old,
each a gift of Your creation
each a love song to be sung.
God of rainbow, fiery pillar,
leading where the eagles soar.
We your people,
ours the journey,
now and ever more
Musician: Plays a blues improvisation of the melody to "There is More Love Somewhere"
Actor turns page and moves through first door. In second door, he picks up a shawl and places it over his shoulders, passes through third door and begins to speak.
Elizabeth Dirks (homey, warm, nurturing, loving)
Good afternoon my dear, dear friends. I am so happy to be here with you. Please allow me to introduce myself, my name is Elizabeth Dirks. I was born around the year 1500 in East Friesland, Germany. While I was still very young, a toddler really, I was taken to a convent and given to the nuns. I never really knew why I was abandoned but I was content there with the nuns. They took good care of me and let me learn so much. And I was a bit, how do you say, precocious?
When I was 12 years old, I heard about a heretic that had been burned for repudiating the sacraments. This struck me very hard; that such a violent thing could be done in the name of religion. I could read; having been raised in the convent and so I secretly began to read the Holy Scriptures. The more I read, the more I began to think for myself and doubted the traditions and doctrines of the Church.
Well, everyone was alarmed when I began to speak about these things. I guess I was too young and impetuous to really understand the danger. I was arrested and kept in a prison for a year before the nuns petitioned to have me released and they took care of me but kept me out of touch with the local public and especially with the legal authorities, both in the town and in the church.
One day I disguised myself as a milk maid and ran away. I went to Leer and joined up with the Anabaptists where I stayed with a local widow. We lived for several quiet years together gardening and being quiet about our beliefs. I got to know this man Menno Simons. I was with him so often that many thought I was his wife but, no no, that was only a rumor.
While I lived quietly with my friend, I continued to believe in the Anabaptist ways and I spoke of my beliefs when asked. I sought no notoriety or attention but I would not recant to please them "Be it known to you that I did not suffer for theft, murder or any other evil deed, but solely for the incorruptible Word of God."
. Actor moves toward and stands next to narrator
Narrator: Elisabeth was arrested with her friend on January 15, 1549. Her friend was able to escape and lived her life in a nearby town but Elizabeth neither escaped nor recanted. She refused to betray the brethren that she knew including Menno Simons who was hunted constantly. Many tried to dissuade her but she continued to be steadfast in her Anabaptist beliefs. A song was written upon her death; a song of 21 stanzas.
Actor turns and places shawl at the door. Narrator lights a candle and places it with the others. Actor moves upstage. Actor passes through doors and joins Reader and Narrator downstage and read:
Actor: And so, these are their stories along with many more. Many names we know and many we do not know.
Narrator: Do we remember them? Do these stories mean anything to us today?
Reader: Are these people like saints to be venerated and honored?
Narrator: Are these stories foundations for our faith or crumbling remnants of times long gone? Are they only history; stories to be told?
Actor: There are more and these stories are as meaningful as we let them to be.
Reader: Will you remember us, they ask?
Will you sing our songs and recite our verses?
Will you live out our lives in your times?
Narrator: And so it shall be. Amen
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