Inland Northwest churches bring Easter to life with immersive experiences
News Story by Lake Lust and Emma Maple | FāVS News
For many churches, Easter comes with myriad traditions that have evolved over generations: sunrise vigils, egg hunts and potlucks. But for two churches in the Inland Northwest, celebrating Easter takes months of preparation culminating in immersive performances that recreate the story of Jesus Christ.
Not quite plays and not quite traditional services, faith leaders say these Easter experiences aim to more fully engage viewers with the narrative, and the emotional context, of the death and resurrection of Christ.
This weekend, the Spokane Valley Adventist Church is hosting Journey to the Cross, an outdoor walkthrough experience where small groups will witness conversations between characters up-close. The 45-minute event involves nine different scenes focused on the last week of Christ’s ministry.
“All these are just trying to tell the story of the event and the meaning surrounding Christ’s death and resurrection,” said Casey Harms, director of the Journey to the Cross.
In Idaho, the Coeur d’Alene Seventh-day Adventist Church (CDA-SDA) will host “The War in Heaven, an Easter Story” a 90-minute stage production with few words and a full musical soundtrack. Prior to the show, attendees can explore a walk-through village with activities hosted by in-costume volunteers.
The play has a little bit of an atypical start, said Patti Schultz, CDA-SDA office manager and “War in Heaven” performer.
Instead of beginning with the story of Jesus’ ministry, it starts by portraying God casting Satan to earth and creating Adam and Eve. This gives people a new perspective on God’s love and why Jesus came to earth, she said.
Both Schultz and Harms said it is common for viewers to be in tears by the end of the story.
“People say it’s brought them spiritually closer to God,” Harms said. “That’s what keeps us going, that’s why we do it.”
The “Journey to the Cross” will run Friday 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tours will start every ten minutes.
The event is free of charge, but entry is on a first-come, first-serve basis, Harms said. Because of that, he recommended that people get there as early as possible as wait times can be fairly extended.
The “War in Heaven” will have a showing Friday at 6 p.m. and two showings on Saturday, one at 11 a.m. and one at 6 p.m. The walk-through village will be open an hour and a half prior to each show.
“It takes a big part of our church family,” Schultz said. “It’s probably the biggest outreach that we do.”
This experience is free and, although no reservation is required, Schultz said she encourages people to reserve tickets in advance by visiting the church’s website.
Those watching or participating in the experiences often see the Easter story in a different light, and the same can hold true for performers. Schultz said she plays Mary, the mother of Jesus, in the production. With one of her friends playing Jesus, she said the scene on the cross “hits me at a very deep level.”
Both congregations have years-long histories presenting these events for their communities, and, this year, are the only Easter experiences of their kind in the Inland Northwest.
More than 100 community members, including many children, are involved in the production of “War in Heaven,” according to Schultz. The total budget for the production is around $9,600 and the church spends months planning and perfecting it, with sign-ups for characters happening as early as February.
“It takes a lot of commitment,” she said.
The “Journey to the Cross” involves around 200 actors, with 50 to 75 additional support staff. While most of them are from the Spokane Valley Adventist Church, Harms said multiple other denominations are represented in the cast. This event typically takes the church around four months to pull together.
“It’s a very large production,” Harms said. “We are very open to anyone in the Christian community helping us out.”
Both productions aim to keep the stories they portray as biblically accurate as possible, while inputting elements of creative freedom that help the stories come to life.
“I wouldn’t say this is widely departing from the biblical account by any means,” Harms said. “But the drama that we are trying to do tries to amplify and bring the experiences to life in a way that is understandable and relatable.”
While the audience typically comprises a Christian majority, Harms said he’s seen many non-Christians attend and hear the Easter story for the first time.
Schultz said people often gain a new perspective of the Bible through participation in these events.
“So many people have a view of God that is a little bit frightening, a little bit judgemental or vindictive,” Schultz said. “If you dig into the story of God, that’s not who he is. He’s looking for any possible way to save you. He puts all this in front of you to try to get your attention. That’s the passion of our church to tell this story.”
Emma Maple is in the midst of her first year as a career journalist and loving every minute of it. For her day job, she is a general assignment reporter for Peninsula Daily News in Port Angeles, Washington. However, due to her interest in the intersection of religion and society, she continues to freelance for FaVs as an outlet to explore that passion. While she’s still figuring out what niche of journalism she wants to fill, court reporting or religion culture reporting are her top two interests.
