Glen Ellyn church revives popular Easter Passion play after 11-year hiatus

When Glen Ellyn resident Jack Nies portrays Jesus in “Jerusalem Journey,” he draws on his own experiences of joy and anguish to convey the range of emotions Jesus went through during the last week of his life on earth.

“I feel all those emotions,” he said. “It’s a profound experience and a humbling experience.”

Members of First Presbyterian Church in Glen Ellyn, which is putting on the production, say “Jerusalem Journey” also lets audience members experience the Easter Passion in a very personal way as they walk through nearly 20 scenes with the story unfolding around them.

“The journey is very experiential,” said Olivia Albert of Aurora, director of “Jerusalem Journey.”

At the end of the 1-hour, 45-minute performance, audience members are invited to take communion and write a prayer to leave at the prayer wall. The Crucifixion scene is not advised for children under age 7.

Event resurrected

It’s been a dozen years since First Presbyterian last produced “Jerusalem Journey” in 1999. First performed in 1990, the production grew from an Ash Wednesday event attended by 250 church members to become an event staged nine times over four nights that drew 1,300 people.

This year’s event, involving 150 members from four churches, will be bigger than ever. “Jerusalem Journey” will be enacted at 3, 5 and 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, March 19 and 20. Performances are free, but tickets are required because only 125 people are permitted in each guided group.

Church member Marilyn Storms, who will portray one of the women anointing Christ, said in the past she had played one of the townspeople.

“You’re walking with Christ the last week and you’re seeing what’s happening,” she said. “It’s a joy to watch the people going through it. It moves them and means something.”

Founded by former church member Ina Wissmiller, “Jerusalem Journey” was so moving to the congregation that a small group of members kept the idea alive after the production was discontinued, Albert said.

Albert had been involved in previous productions as a co-director and director before she and her husband moved away after he was ordained a minister.

After returning to the Western suburbs, Albert, along with other congregation members, started working a more than year ago to revive the production.

In the years “Jerusalem Journey” was on hiatus, the church had gone through two floods and a major expansion. Most of the original props had been discarded, Albert said.

“We basically had to start from square one,” she said.

Carol Fiene, a retired art teacher, worked with others to create the scenery. Never having seen the previous productions, she studied photos and videos to see what had been done before. The biggest challenge was creating two, 30-foot-by-12-foot fabric panels to cover large windows, she said.

“It’s going to be an amazing production,” she said.

Team work

Working together on the production has helped forge new relationships with the 1,100-member congregation, Albert said.

“This is an opportunity for many of us to make new friends,” she said.

Most of the team of 150 involved with creating costumes, building sets, gathering props, rehearsing for cast parts, preparing musical ensembles, and working on lighting and sound effects come from First Presbyterian. But they have been joined by members of Iglesia Cristiana Comunidad Hispana, a Spanish congregation that meets at First Presbyterian; Gary Memorial United Methodist Church in Wheaton; and Calvary Temple in Naperville. Adults and children are involved, and a live donkey is part of the opening scene of Jesus entering Jerusalem.

The production includes liturgical dance, choral readings, musical solos, children singing, organ and other instrumental music. Music often accompanies the action and tableaux scenes, said music director Barbara Meyer of Wheaton.

“We’re trying to use music to enhance the experience of everyone,” she said.

Real Easter story

Mark McAndrew of Glen Ellyn shares with another player the inevitable role of Judas, the disciple who betrayed Jesus. McAndrew, who has played the part before, said he sees Judas as conflicted, but not necessarily evil. Judas did not really believe Jesus would allow himself to be killed, McAndrew said.

“He loves Jesus. He just decides he’s going to substitute his judgment for that of Jesus,” McAndrew said. “He misses the point completely. Jesus is not the king of this world.”

The production is an opportunity to stand in the shoes of people who did not read the Bible, but who lived it, McAndrew said.

“It really is a great learning tool for people of all ages,” he said. “People spend a lot of time coloring eggs and chasing the Easter Bunny. This is what Easter is all about.”

Nies, who has all the speaking parts of Jesus, shares the role with two other players in the tableaux.

“Most of the lines I speak are from the Gospel,” he said. “That gives me a lot of confidence.”

In past productions of “Jerusalem Journey,” up to 40 percent of the audience has been from outside First Presbyterian Church.

“That’s our job, to help them witness (the events),” Nies said, “so they can draw their own conclusions.”

If you go

What: “Jerusalem Journey”

When: 3, 5 and 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, March 19-20

Where: First Presbyterian Church of Glen Ellyn, 550 N. Main St.

Cost: Free, but tickets required; food donations accepted for local pantries

Info: (630) 469-2007, ext. 10, or JerusalemJourney@firstpresge.org; mention any special need requests