THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 30, 1994 TAG: 9406290114
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TRUDY CUTHRELL, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: 940630 LENGTH: Medium
In a premiere performance before their home congregation, the 14-member cast presented dramatic sketches, choral speaking parts and contemporary Christian musical arrangements.
{REST} ``I knew what I wanted from the start,'' said tour director and East End Minister of Music Karen D. Croston. ``I wanted to challenge our youth and those who would listen to them not to be so comfortable with where they are. . . . While the sketches dealt with youth issues, the program had a message that relates to all ages.''
After their presentation to members of their own church, the East End teens traveled by bus to Charleston, S.C., for performances at the Jerusalem Baptist Church and the historic Central Baptist Church.
Sandwiched between rehearsals and performances, East End young people took a sightseeing tour to Fort Sumter, shopped in the Charleston market, attended a semiformal youth social with young people from one of their host churches and a late-night outing to a laser-tag arcade.
Both musical productions of ``It's Time To Make A Change'' received rave reviews from adults and youth alike. ``The Lord really guided me in putting this together,'' Croston said.
``First, I selected the sketches, then added the music, and finally chose the title.'' But the end result was a powerful sermon in song.
The four sketches were thought-provoking vignettes. ``Flight 777'' examined the motives of four passengers flying the ``Godly Skies Airline'' and revealed their reactions when dangerous turbulence occurred.
``Midnight Guilt'' focused on the lives of three teens who had caused the death of others.
A third sketch compared the lives of two teens - one seemed perfect and the other a chaotic mess. The climactic message was to trust God completely and follow God's lead regardless of life's circumstances.
The main character in sketch four, the ``Heart-Giver,'' visited different members of the cast and traded their negative feelings and emotions for godly ones - anxiety for trust, pride for humility, hate for love. At the conclusion, the choir sang a stirring arrangement of ``A World of Difference.''
``These were like four mini-sermons,'' Croston said. ``If one didn't get you, another one would.''
On June 22, the East End Choir presented its final tour performance to a hometown crowd at a sister church, the First Baptist Church on Main Street in Suffolk.
``It was a dynamic program, one of the best youth productions I've seen in a long time,'' commented one First Baptist member.
``I watched our teens bond together. . . . I saw unity develop among them,'' Croston said.
First, the teens worked side-by-side to earn attendance points and meet other requirements to qualify for the trip. Participants also worked hand-in-hand to earn the $130 per person to pay their own expenses for the tour.
Bake sales and ``youth-for-hire'' projects brought in enough money for expenses as well as a small amount of spending money for each choir member.
From initial rehearsals in February until tour time in June, some dramatic changes took place in attitudes and actions of the choir and cast, according to Croston.
``I really believe God hand-picked this group,'' Croston said. ``As they have done this musical, it has become a part of them. They have really begun to live its message.''
In the afterglow and physical exhaustion of the tour, Croston affirms her purpose in attempting such a feat. ``The biggest thrill for me and my ultimate goal is to do something that will have a lasting impact on the lives of kids.''
As the mother of two preschoolers, wife of a busy pastor and music minister over six choirs and four music associates, Croston already lives life in the fast lane. But to give her time and attention to the spiritual development and training of teens is to her a joy and pleasure.
``I don't necessarily need to be remembered,'' she said. ``I just want to be a positive influence and make a difference in the lives of these teens.''
And that was the goal - and end result - of Summer Tour 1994 for the East End Baptist Youth Touring Choir.
by CNB