Crossroads Church preparing annual gift to community

Staff

Published Sunday, November 30, 2003

By Geri McShane, Tribune Lifestyles Editor

Members of Crossroads Evangelical Free Church want to share their gifts, so they're wrapping them up in the form of a present to the community.

The church is presenting their sixth play in seven years. This year, it's "The Christmas Post" by Deborah Craig-Claar and Robert Sterling. The dramatic musical will be presented Dec. 10-13 at 7 p.m. and Dec. 13 and 14 at 2 p.m. at the Albert Lea Civic Theatre.

Tickets may be reserved after Dec. 1 by calling 377-8526. Seating is guaranteed until 15 minutes before the performance by ticket only.

There is no charge to attend the performance, but a freewill offering will be received at the conclusion of the performance. Last year's performance raised over $4,600 for charity. This year, proceeds will be given to Youth for Christ and The Salvation Army Food Shelf.

"We feel as a church it's awesome to support another church," said Curtis Smith, a church member who is directing and choreographing the production.

It's early on Christmas Eve, 1947, in mythical Homesboro, Ind. Hattie McGee's "newsies" are hawking the morning edition of The Christmas Post and Herzog's

Department Store is about to open.

Maxwell Seldon, sales manager, is bracing for his biggest sales day ever. Elliot Herzog Jr., owner of Herzog's can smell money in the air. Brother Sam and his carolers from the tiny Central Avenue Community Church are hoping for enough donations to keep their soup kitchen open. And Alice Garfield is on a collision course with a disaster. A young widow whose faith and pocketbook are both stretched to the limit, Alice is desperately trying to find "a little more Christmas" as a commission salesperson at Herzog's this Christmas season. (Unbeknownst to Alice, her daughter, Katie, is secretly attempting the same, working in disguise as one of Hattie's "newsles.") However, when the final sales day of the season ends that afternoon, Alice is still short the funds she needs to buy presents for her kids, and it seems that Christmas is certainly ruined for her.

Then in a good-hearted attempt to help a late-arriving customer, Alice secretly re-opens the store, only to have an uncontrollable mob of shoppers suddenly and disastrously descend on her from everywhere. When the dust settles, Alice has lost her job, all her Christmas earnings, and is about to lose her last bit of faith. But then, with the encouragement of friends, she takes a bold leap of faith and confronts her "by-the-book" boss, Mr. Herzog. As her fellow sales people, Brother Sam, and the mob of shoppers come to her rescue, Alice realizes that she had been focusing on her problems, instead of focusing on God. As the last strains of "A Little More Christmas" close the show, Alice rediscovers that faith in Jesus is the true key to believing in Christmas.

"It's a beautiful message," Smith said.

The cast includes Sue Westrum as Hattie, Ken Floth as Hank, Jill Stevens as Alice, Shelby Little as Katie, Dana Ford as Brother Sam, Dustin Petersen as Sgt. Buchanan, Stacey Overgaard as Maxwell, Shawn Yates as Herzog Jr., Jen Grotsun as Dixie, Becky Nordland as Hapless Man, Matt Rankin as Frantic Man, and Paul Budd as Herzog Sr.

Adult choir members are Ethan Brouwer, Ryan Hitchcock, Tyler Hitchcock, Kent Otterman, Bob Scrabeck, Josh Wilke, Jean Anderson, Ronna Belshan, Gladys Brouwer, Valerie Budd, Amanda Dickerson, Elizabeth Dickerson, Jodi Dickerson, Sarah Dickerson, Connie Frazier, Jes Grotsun, Arlene Little, Becky Nordland, Jill Skogen, Brenda Swanson, Ashley Trail and Lori Wilke.

Children's choir members are Faith Anderson, Sydney Frazier, Hannah Knutson, Sydney Overgaard, Brielle Smith, Preston Smith, Meghan Stadheim, Emily Troe, Zach Wilke and Bria Gorton.

Crossroads Evangelical Free Church is in the process of building a church, and many members are involved in committees for that, Smith said, adding there are over 20 new faces in this year's production.

"Many people are stepping forward and taking charge of things like props and clothing," he said.

The director said many community people have already called asking when this year's production would take place.

"We sold out last year," he said.

(Contact Geri McShane at lifestyles@albertleatribune.com, or call 379-3436.)

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