Sacred Stages: A Church, a Theatre, and a Story ( 28 min, 36 sec ), tells the unique and inspiring story of the relationship between the First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple—Chicago's oldest Christian congregation—and Silk Road Rising, a theatre company founded in response to 9/11 and dedicated to showcasing playwrights of Asian and Middle Eastern backgrounds. A shared commitment to storytelling, racial and economic justice, and LGBT inclusion characterizes this profound partnership between a religious community and a secular theatre.
Sacred Stages can be seen online for free at: www.silkroadrising.org/video-plays/sacred-stages-a-church-a-theatre-and-a-story .
Sacred Stages includes interviews with:
Rev. Philip Blackwell, Senior Pastor, First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple
Malik Gillani, Founding Executive Director, Silk Road Rising
Cheryl Hamada, Actor
Jann Ingmire, Congregation Member, FUMC at the Chicago Temple
Jamil Khoury, Founding Executive Director, Silk Road Rising
Rev. Claude King, Former Associate Minister, FUMC at the Chicago Temple
Michael Leech, Congregation Member, FUMC at the Chicago Temple
Jonni Miklos, Church Administrator, FUMC at the Chicago Temple
Adriana Sevahn Nichols, Playwright and Actor
Megha Ralapati, Patron and Supporter of Silk Road Rising
David Rhee, Actor
Brenda Russell, Congregation Member, FUMC at the Chicago Temple
STATEMENT FROM JAMIL KHOURY
Founding Artistic Director of Silk Road Rising
There is a theology to the relationship between Silk Road Rising and the First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple. One that is as secular for us as it is religious for them. Churches and theatres share a common origin. We're both on a quest for transcendence. We're both in the business of storytelling. We use stories to discover and uncover truths, to evoke empathy and create change. We both love text. We ascribe great meaning to words, to narrative, parable, fable, and myth. We are as liturgical as we are theatrical. We stage ritual and we dramatize passion. We're performers. We both love production. Ultimately, churches and theatres are about building community, sharing a collective experience, communing with the divine. We both strive to be relevant, to matter, to make a difference, to affect people's lives, to help people heal. And we're both in a process of reimagining and reinventing ourselves, responding to the 21st Century. Why not do so together?
STATEMENT FROM REVEREND PHILIP BLACKWELL
Senior Minister at the First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple
When Malik and Jamil came to me a decade ago and said that they wanted to created a theater in response to the 9/11 attacks, I thought it was outrageous—and inspired. There had been books, documentaries, and panel discussions, but a persistent dedication to helping people tell their stories so that others might understand was truly visionary. How can we bring peace among us? By getting to know each other. And, how best can we get to know each other? By sharing our stories. So, for years Silk Road Rising and the First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple have collaborated to foster understanding through plays, staged readings, seminars, and university presentations. In that time, Silk Road Rising has earned the admiration of many in the theater community of Chicago and beyond, and the church has made known its commitment to work creatively for reconciliation.
DEDICATION
Silk Road Rising dedicates Sacred Stages to our gracious and loving hosts at the First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple and to meaningful partnerships between arts organizations and religious communities the world over.
CREDITS
Directed, Edited, and Produced by Malik Gillani and Jamil Khoury
Video Editor Deann Baker
Directors of Photography Stephen Combs and Deann Baker
Executive Producers Malik Gillani and Jamil Khoury
Script Consultant Jon Steinhagen
Production Managers Caitlin Duerinck and Corey Pond
Composer Peter J. Storms
Photographers and Videographers: Deann Baker, Michael Brosilow, Stephen Combs, Dale Heinen, Marty Higginbotham and The Stage Channel, Joe Jensen, and Johnny Knight.
ABOUT SILK ROAD RISING
Silk Road Rising was founded by life partners Jamil Khoury and Malik Gillani in 2002 under the name Silk Road Theatre Project, as a proactive response to anti-Arab and anti-Muslim sentiments following the attacks of 9/11. Silk Road Rising is a Chicago based nonprofit polycultural arts organization that creates theatre, both live and online, that tells stories through the eyes of Middle Eastern and Asian playwrights. To learn more about Silk Road Rising please visit www.silkroadrising.org
ABOUT THE FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH AT THE CHICAGO TEMPLE
The mission of the First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple is to welcome everyone to worship God in the heart of the city, and to be a nurturing community that offers Christ's love and word throughout the world. To honor this mission, we envision in the church and world: embracing the diversity of God's creation; offering sacred space as a sanctuary for all; promoting education and spiritual growth; being good stewards of God's gifts, talents and resources; embodying God's love as we minister to our neighbors everywhere through prayer and acts of service; and offering public witness for justice and mercy. To learn more about the First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple please visit www.chicagotemple.org
