by Webmanager | Feb 12, 2018
The Mechanicals of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” witnessing the death of Pyramus and Thisbe!
One of the most notorious and uproarious comedic scenes in all of dramatic literature comes from “The Most Lamentable Comedy and Most Cruel Death of Pyramus and Thisbe” performed by the Mechanicals, a troupe of aspiring tradesmen come to perform at the marriage celebration of the Duke of Athens in William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In this picture, Pyramus (Bottom the Weaver, played by Corey Ruehling) and Thisbe (Francis Flute the bellows mender, played by Levi Bennett) have just expired in a heap in the bottom right corner while Lion (Snug, played by Tori Roberts), Peter Quince (played by Zeb Johnson), Moonshine (Robin Staveling the tailor, played by Esther McRae), and yes, ladies and gentlemen, that is indeed Norm Baker, CU Bible and Theology Prof, as Wall (Tom Snout the tinker).all watch the lamentable death!,
Norm caught the bug first in high school, but his talents have lain dormant until until a few months ago when he was asked to play the role of Martin Luther for a chapel scene on the Reformation. His appetite was once again whetted! He’s having an incredible time and has enjoyed getting to know students on a more casual basis while gaining a greater respect for the craft of acting. All we can tell you is Kenneth Branagh had better move over! You’ll have to see him to believe him, so make sure you’re there for Act V!
The production runs March 8-11. See you at the show!
Tickets are currently on sale here: https://www.calvary.edu/theatre-arts/
by Webmanager | Feb 2, 2018
By now I hope you have all heard of our recent announcement that God has blessed us with an incredible 7.5-acre property with a beautiful 130,000 square foot building in Fort Morgan, Colorado. We also announced that we would be launching the Calvary University Innovation Center as a second location there. Quite a few have asked what exactly this Innovation Center is.
Excellent question. I am glad you asked. While God has been very gracious in allowing us the wonderful property at our main campus in Kansas City, Missouri, we don’t quite have the room there to do some of the things we believe necessary for Calvary University to best fulfill its mission. So we have been on the lookout during these past couple of years for properties that might fit our needs for a second site to complement what we are doing in Kansas City and online. Our new Innovation Center offers just what we need.
First, the Innovation Center will be a hub for student and faculty engagement in the Western United States. Calvary U currently offers more than 60 different degrees at our main campus, and many of those are available fully online as well. But along with our blended model which integrates the best of both the online and on campus worlds, we still want our students in other regions to be able to have an on-campus community. The Innovation Center allows us to do that in a ministry-rich area around Denver, Colorado. We plan to offer degrees onsite there in Bible and Theology, Christian ministries, Biblical counseling, intercultural studies, and business and organizational development, with classes launching late this Summer.
Second, the Innovation Center will be a center for community engagement. The athletic center seats nearly 1700 and the auditorium seats nearly 900. These are incredible facilities that will allow the Calvary University Innovation Center to be home to conferences, community groups, and more. We are working as we speak to develop relationships and partnerships with those who might be a great fit for collaboration. The facilities allow us to serve the residents of Fort Morgan and beyond. Further, we will have plenty of space to house ministries and businesses who want to locate their offices at the Innovation Center. This will provide great opportunities to connect community leaders with our students, allowing our students to learn and serve the community well. Have a ministry or business in the Denver area, and interested in being part of Calvary’s Innovation Center? Let’s talk! There may be a home for you at the Innovation Center.
Third, the Innovation Center will be a place of outreach to a beautifully diverse population. The area northeast of Denver is surprisingly diverse, with a few major companies operating factories and plants there. It is a growing area, and judging by the housing market in that area, the economy there seems about ready to explode (in a good way).
Speaking of housing – that will be one of our greatest challenges: to provide housing opportunities for students. While the opportunity is significant, so is the cost. We ask that you consider how you might prayerfully support our efforts there in providing opportunities for our students. If you can help in any way let us know!
Finally, the Innovation Center will give us opportunities to launch innovative mission-supporting programs, complementing and aiding our efforts in Kansas City. We expect that the Innovation Center will help us grow and sustain the quality we need in order to best serve our students in both of our locations. We are excited about this second location for Calvary University, and we ask you to keep us in prayer as we strive to be excellent stewards with this unique opportunity. And if you have a pair of gloves or a few expendable dollars, come on! We could use your help…
by Webmanager | Jan 28, 2018
Calvary Theatre Arts is proud to present William Shakespeare’s most popular comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Shakespeare’s Midsummer contains all the trappings of a counter-cultural environment, so in the spirit of reflecting that vibe, director Bobbie Jeffrey has chosen a 1960s mise en scene. As you can see from the photo – it’s gonna be groovy! There will be some tunes that are familiar to you; however, Soul Man Bruce Barrett is composing original music specifically for our show. Production run is March 8-11. For all the details, visit our box office: https://www.calvary.edu/theatre-box-office/
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Tim McGuire as Oberon, King of the Aerie Band, and Amy Garlett as Titania, Queen of the Fairies, rock their 60s tie-dye!
by Webmanager | Dec 22, 2017
Day 16 – Friday, Dec 22
Do you tend to get the post-holiday blues? In a short while, the magic of Christmas morning and the New Year countdown will be over. Decorations will come down, and we’ll all have to get back to the stuff and struggles of our ordinary lives.
So why the letdown? It’s not as if we didn’t understand what we were celebrating. It was the advent of the Christ child born to be our Savior! We rejoiced in a gift that touches our lives every single day, so again, why the letdown?
Several Christmases ago, I was challenged through a book called “God is in the Manger,” a collection of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s advent writings sent to his friends, fiancé, and family from his prison cell in Nazi Germany. A consistent theme that ran through Dietrich’s writings was the joy and peace he experienced from understanding this one fact: Our whole life is an advent season awaiting the next coming of Christ. That bears repeating. Christ IS coming again, and the story ends with Him making all things new.
Yes, it is natural to feel disappointment as we leave a season of rest to face new challenges in this fallen world. But even through this, if Christ’s return is not a source of hope for us EVERY DAY, then it is possible that our hope is mislaid. Are we hoping in our next job situation, or degree, or retirement, or next big purchase, or upcoming vacation to bring us a fuller and happier life? Most may be good things, but they will all fade, and so can never be a lasting source of hope.
May we experience true advent peace in our hearts through living every day in the joy and peace that comes from knowing that our Savior lives and is coming back to fix the mess in the world and the mess in our hearts. Rejoice! It’s still advent season!
Tim Hange, Missionary in Residence
by Webmanager | Dec 21, 2017
Day 15 – Thursday, Dec 21
Of all the verses in Scripture, Luke 2:7 is one of the easiest to comprehend, but it is also one of the most arresting. After Jesus was born, Mary simply “placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” We might wonder why there no room for Him in the inn and perhaps think it was just incidental — that Joseph and Mary were forced by circumstances to respond spontaneously as events unfolded. Tired after traveling for hours, they were probably discouraged to find a “no vacancy” sign at the inn. But it happened according to God’s eternal plan, and the inspired Word insists that we recognize the ancient manger and the inn as faithful representations of our own spiritual condition, and the passing of 2000 years has not altered or improved that condition.
Why was there no room for them in the inn? Why no place for Jesus Christ, God’s gift to mankind? The act of gift-giving requires a giver, a gift freely given, and a recipient who is free to receive or reject the gift. Just as a giver is not obligated to give a gift, the recipient is not required to accept it. So why would anyone freely reject a gift that could actually meet his or her greatest need? Our Savior was rejected by choice, freely made in an evil heart that is at enmity with God.
One past Christmas, a wealthy real estate agent drove to a small military town in Texas for the purpose of giving away $5,000.00 in cash. The man stood in the local Wal-Mart, and he offered cash in twenty-dollar bills to every military family who entered the store. “It’s my way of thanking military families who fight for our freedom and make possible our way of life,” he said. How long did it take him to give away that cash? Do you think anyone refused the money? Can you imagine a poor, struggling buck-private’s wife with a little baby saying, “Keep your gift; I don’t need it! I’ve got no room for it in my life, so just stick it out there in the manger.”
The thought of rejecting a gift is absurd, and yet, this is exactly what men and women do with the gift that God actually offers them in the Person and work of Jesus Christ. Rather than freely receive His gift freely given, they go about their business and consign Him to the manger — to the stalls and the pig-pens of life because He is of so little value. The good news of the Bible is that God sent His Son into the world to meet man’s greatest need for reconciliation with God.
Dr. Eric Stricker, Dean of the Graduate School
