Wheaton woman brings Mary to life this Christmas

Whenever Maggie Rowe performs "The Woman Jesus Called Mother," the props are minimal and the emotions powerful.

She conveys the mixture of fear and faith in an unmarried, teenage girl who agrees to bear the promised Messiah in a culture where a pregnancy out of wedlock could result in death.

She conveys the joy of Mary as she holds her newborn son and years later, her tears as she cradles his broken body at the cross. Finally, an elderly Mary shares her hope of heaven and reunion with her son.

"It's really the life of Jesus through the eyes of a mother," said Rowe, the wife of a pastor and the mother of three young adult children. "If my son did what Jesus did, all I would want to do is tell people about it. That's what mothers do."

The Wheaton resident has performed the drama she wrote 16 years ago more than 200 times in the United States, Brazil and the Philippines. Over the next two weeks, she will perform it locally for churches in Medinah, Wheaton and West Chicago.

Her portrayal of Mary is most in demand during Advent, Lent and for Mother's Day, Rowe said.

"This is the story of arguably the most famous woman who ever lived," she said.

But as well-known and revered as Mary is throughout the Christian world, people often don't see her as a real person, said Rowe's husband, the Rev. Mike Rowe, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Wheaton.

"It never ceases to move me," said the pastor, who often accompanies his wife to her performances. "In pretty much every context, it's had a profound impact. In seeing the Christmas story, which can get too familiar, they see it anew. They see it with fresh eyes."

Women, in particular, relate to his wife's portrayal of Mary's pregnancy, he said.

"Women feel how torn and confused Mary must have been," he said.

Rowe, a blue-eyed, blonde Norwegian-American, never set out to portray Mary, a Jewish woman born in the Middle East. She wrote the script for the 14-scene, 50-minute drama after she was asked to speak on "Christmas Memories" at an event for women at a small church in Massachusetts in 1993.

Feeling that the memories of Mary would be of more interest than her own, she researched Jewish traditions and the lives of women in 1st century Israel.

Still, she hesitated to actually portray Mary.

"I'm the wrong age and the wrong ethnicity," she said. "As I prayed, it was as if God said, 'Don't I always choose unlikely people?'"

Publicity about the dramatic presentation has spread mostly by word-of-mouth over the years, and it has been translated into Spanish and Russian.

"I've done it in so many settings - churches, colleges, banquet halls," Rowe said. "Often I go back to the same church."

Rowe, who grew up as an Illinois farm girl near Streator and graduated as a speech major from Wheaton College, also offers two other dramatic portrayals of women of faith. Sarah Pierpont Edwards was the wife of 18th-century theologian and preacher Jonathan Edwards, who helped shape the First Great Awakening of heightened religious activity in the American colonies.

Amy Carmichael was an Irish Protestant missionary to India, who died in the early 1950s.

"She's my favorite to do because she's very funny and passionate," Rowe said.

A full-time publicist with Tyndale House Publishers in Carol Stream and a freelance writer, Rowe does her presentations on evenings and weekends. In little more than a month, she will do eight dramatic portrayals, including ones in Utah and New England.

She and her husband spent 25 years in ministry in New England before returning in 2002 to Wheaton, where they had met as college students. While in New England, she directed women's ministries for Vision New England and she and her husband served as foster parents.

She continues to work with women's ministries at First Baptist Church of Wheaton and speaks at women's conferences and retreats. As a freelance writer, she has contributed to more than 10 Bibles and devotional books.

Rowe also has served as an adjunct faculty member in the speech department at Wheaton College and has gone on a number of short-term mission trips. She recently returned from a nine-day mission trip to Costa Rica with Tyndale House.

Asked how she balances her busy schedule, Rowe says that because her children are grown, she now has the time.

"There's still nothing more important to me than being a mom," she said.

Mary, the woman Jesus called mother, would understand.

• Do you know someone with an unusual job or hobby? Let us know at sdibble@dailyherald.com, (630) 955-3532 or 4300 Commerce Court, Lisle, 60532.

If you go

Maggie Rowe will perform "The Woman Jesus Called Mother" at three local events.

• Medinah Baptist Christmas Tea at 7 p.m. Dec. 7. Cost: $20. For details, call (630) 980-9421.

• Women's Christmas Celebration at 7 p.m. Dec. 10 at First Baptist Church of Wheaton, 1310 N. Main St. Cost: $3, $10 for four. Info: (630) 665-0330.

• Connecting Hearts Christmas Event at 6 p.m. Dec. 14 at Community Fellowship Church, 28W240 North Ave., West Chicago. Cost: $15, includes dinner. Info: (630) 562-9184.

Info: maggierowe.com