The Unicorn Triumphant

11 Comments »

11 Responses

1. on February 5, 2010 at 1:34 pm | Reply Mike

   Can I use the following comments from you (taken from a comment at internetmonk), provided I give credit?

   The pastor of my church at college once said something in a sermon that stuck with me. The church worked with a local homeless shelter to provide beds in the church hall for 10 men each night during the winter. Two people from the church would volunteer to stay overnight and get them settled with showers and cots, put out breakfast and coffee, etc. (Volunteers generally helped out anywhere from once a week to once every couple of months depending on their schedule.)

   The pastor said in the sermon that the church might not be able to provide this service next year if more people didn’t put their names on the schedule to help out. He said several people had told him they didn’t want to do it anymore because “they weren’t getting anything out of it.”

   He said, “The purpose isn’t for you to get something out of it, though it’s nice if you do. The purpose is for these homeless men to get something out of it – a warm and safe place to sleep. The purpose of volunteering is not so that you can feel good; it’s because you as a Christian have an obligation to help those who wouldn’t be helped otherwise.”

   Thanks for your reply

   
   
   • on February 5, 2010 at 4:45 pm | Reply ccematson

     Mike,

     By all means, feel free to use it. I’d be interested to know where you do.

     Thanks,
     Cole

     
     
2. on March 4, 2010 at 3:42 pm | Reply Marilyn MacCrakin

   Dear Cole –
   I stumbled across your blog/website when I was doing an internet search for Professional Christian Theatres. I was looking for theatres to produce my plays. I am a Christian and a playwright. I believe I write positive, uplifting moral plays. I have won awards for my plays and have had some productions but many times my plays are rejected by “secular” theatres because they are “too religious” and by Christian theatres because they are not religious enough. Lately I have been inspired to write plays about Biblical people. My latest work, “Among the Prophets” takes a realistic look at King David and King Saul. I turn them into real, living, breathing humans with flaws and defects. First of all, I do this because I believe it is the truth and also because I believe that many times Christian plays have a “Sunday School” mentality – they present only the “good” in a Biblical story so that this will somehow inspire people to also become good. Whereas I think this has the opposite effect – people believe to be a Christian you have to be a goody two-shoes and they know they will never measure up. So with that in mind, I also “create” characters that are multi-faceted, for instance I take the Witch of Endor and change her from a minor character into a major one with all the imagination that I can muster into her.
   And just to let you know, I did not find many Professional Christian theatres that would be a good fit for any of my plays. I do have one play about John the Baptist that is being considered by Pacific Theatre but I wish there were more theatres out there like Pacific Theatre. If you do start a theatre or if you run across any that are looking for quality plays – let me know and I will continue to visit your progress on this website. I pray for your continued success! Thanks for listening, Marilyn MacCrakin

   
   
   • on March 4, 2010 at 4:06 pm | Reply ccematson

     Marilyn,

     Thank you very much for your comment. It’s wonderful to hear from a playwright who is out there trying to strike that balance. If you’re willing, I’d love to read your play. (I’m actually in the midst of my Old Testament class at the moment.) King David was such a complex man. His Psalm 51 (Greek 50), the Miserere, is one of my favorites. As part of the Church’s Divine Office, I pray it every Friday.

     I’ve heard excellent things about Pacific, and I wish you well with them. You might also want to look into Blackfriars Repertory in New York City. Thanks for checking in, and for your prayers. I will pray for you as well.

     Yours in Christ,
     Cole

     
     
3. on March 5, 2010 at 12:25 pm | Reply Marilyn MacCrakin

   Thanks Cole for your encouraging words. Of course you can read my play — I would love to hear your comments. Where should I email it/send it? Thanks for the prayers, Marilyn MacCrakin

   
   
   • on March 11, 2010 at 8:27 pm | Reply ccematson

     Marilyn,

     My e-mail is ccematson AT gmail DOT com. (The odd spelling is to deter spam-bots.) Thanks!

     Cole

     
     
4. on March 13, 2010 at 7:25 pm | Reply Jim Beauchamp

   Cole, The Church of the Redeemer in Baltimore Maryland has for 20+ years used theatre as a focus for their youth (7 to 12 grade). My daughter participated in this youth ministry for five years. My wife and i help with the youth ministry for six years.

   The concept is to utilize the creating and production of a musical theatre production bring youth into a Christian setting and experience the power of theatre to develop and enhance Christian values. The youth with the help of adult leaders participate in all aspects of preparing for and staging a musical productions. Some years the plays have had a religious theme but not always.

   The power of this appraoch includes attracting youth to be involved with the church community, creation of a youth community, working together to accomplish a joint goal, praying and dining togehter to develop friendship and a sense of spirtuality, etc.

   
   
5. on October 10, 2010 at 8:51 am | Reply Day 8: The Eagle & Child, and a Free Meal and Books « Ryan&JenGoToEngland

   [...] met up with Cole there. The American who is also attending Harris Manchester and studying Theology. He’s a [...]

   
   
6. on November 5, 2010 at 9:16 pm | Reply Day 27-33: Jen’s first week, our time with Steve & visiting CS Lewis’ home (Part II) « Ryan&JenGoToEngland

   [...] Cole set it up for us. He lived there at the Kilns last year. So he still had the connections to make this happen. And after hearing Jen & Steve would be here on the day of the tea, he made sure to let me know they were welcome to join us as well. Great guy. [...]

   
   
7. on April 11, 2011 at 9:52 am | Reply Farah Buck

   Hi Cole,
   Thank you so much for the educational tour of the Kilns and Holy Trinity’s graveyard. You were a great tour guide! I wish that we lived closer so you could get to know my husband Stuart. I had some additional questions about Warnie Lewis. Were the boys in his care after Lewis died? If so, for how long? He didn’t seem to be capable of taking care of himself very well. By the way, check this out.
   http://www.deerfield.edu/people/79/215/Theater_Director
   The video of the tour is on my mother’s computer. I can email you some pictures from the tour but if you’d like video, it will probably take a while to get it to you. The next time I’m home I can try to put it on youtube or on a disk.

   Best wishes and God Bless!
   Farah

   
   
   • on May 10, 2011 at 2:42 am | Reply Cole Matson

     Farah,

     Thanks for the note, and sorry for the delayed response. After Lewis died, the boys were not in Warnie’s care so far as I know, since they were both over 18 by that point. There was a woman in the neighbourhood who had helped with their care after Joy died, and I believe she continued to watch over them after Lewis died. In addition, Lewis left the boys trust funds (and also left some money to the neighbour in gratitude). The boys are now the heirs to the Estate.

     I’d love to see pictures and/or video whenever you can manage it!

     Thanks, and blessings,
     Cole