Before I gave the conductor's score one last glance, I turned around to catch a glimpse of who had shown for that evening's performance—and I saw something. I saw two couples sitting next to each other, the Mooneys, longtime members of South Main who now live out of town and the Perrys, who have joined South Main in recent years. They shook hands and began chatting it up. Two couples who didn't know each other but had a common bond—South Main.
In that moment, I was reminded of one of the greatest blessings of the South Main Summer Musical—bringing people together. The talent that pours off that stage is unquestionable. I am constantly amazed how so many sacrifice their time (most of a summer) for designing and building sets, choreography, sewing costumes, assembling props, and stage managing. Each show we celebrate these gifts and sacrifices of time.
Yet there's something else that if you're not careful you would miss in the stage lights and hustle and bustle backstage. You miss the 15 cast members who had never done a show before. You see them at rehearsals leaning on the veterans for every drop of encouragement and direction. You see Esther Lambert, who has never been on stage before but was committed to supporting her son Evan, so she joined the cast. You see Kathryn Edwards, new to South Main and the Sanctuary Choir, find camaraderie and fellowship helping with the crew backstage, who joined South Main the morning of the last performance. This past Sunday, a cradle roll choir member leaned over to me during worship and said "I see so many more faces I know now, than before I did the show."
Through the years, the South Main Summer Musical has provided one of our best examples of intergenerational community and best expressions of being "the family of God for you in this place."
