My Personal Puppet Ministry saga continues! If you missed earlier posts in this series, you can catch up here:
Puppet Grace
Picking a Puppet Pal
Picking a Puppet Pal, Part 2
Puppet Pal~Personality Plus

More lessons learned with Moochacha

My last post shared the debut of my little cow puppet pal, Moochacha, during children’s time in worship services at Harpursville UMC and Ouaquaga UMC. That day, all the “children” in attendance were adults in our second childhood, so I performed the puppet script at the pulpit, with Moochacha perched on the lectern where everyone in the pews could see her.

(By the way, even though I use the word “perform” for what I do with my puppet pal, the purpose of personal puppet ministry is not to grab the spotlight. A puppet performance during a worship service, however entertaining it might be, is intended to put the spotlight on the Lord and his love.)

Moochacha’s second outing took us to the same two churches on June 2, Ascension Sunday. The theme of the sermon, scripture readings, prayers, and music (see bottom of post) was basically that Jesus left earth and returned to heaven in triumph, but he did not abandon us. My scripted conversation with Moochacha coordinated with that message.

We never know how many children will attend the Sunday morning services. Sometimes, none. So, the puppet skit must present a premise and message that are engaging for adults as well as children. Saying goodbye is an experience all ages can identify with, making it a good topic for our mixed audience. It was especially poignant for the older folks because several members of our close-knit church family were dealing with recent or imminent death of loved ones.

Moochacha Learns about Saying Goodbye:

As it turned out, on Ascension Sunday we were blessed with three early elementary age children at Harpursville. That blessing brought a few extra challenges for the puppet performance. This post will look at the logistical side of performing away from the pulpit.

 Location, location, location 

For children’s time, the kids come up front and sit on the carpeted step in front of the altar rail. Performing there meant switching from the pulpit microphone to a lapel mike. I came prepared, wearing a shirt with a neckline where I could clip the mike and slacks with a roomy pocket for the battery pack. With a quick test before the service, I set the volume loud enough for the whole church to hear me and clipped the mike far enough from my mouth to avoid noisy lip pops.

The next question was how and where to position myself. Facing the kids at their own level is ideal for interacting. Pastor Sue usually scooches right down with them at children’s time. Unfortunately, I’m not all that spry. If I sat down on the step with the kids or knelt in front of them, a few hardy members of the congregation would have to winch me back up to my feet afterwards.

Instead, I sat in a chair next to the kids, at an angle that gave me a side view of the congregation. Moochacha perched on the arm of the chair, near the kids’ eye level. She was close enough to my face to make our “conversation” look natural, yet far enough away that my moving lips weren’t overly conspicuous when Moochacha talked. She was off to my side, so there was no danger of her knocking against my lapel mike.

The down side of my low location was that most of the congregation couldn’t see the action. This was not a fatal flaw. After all, dialogue, not action, is the main event in a personal puppet ministry conversation, and everyone could hear me and Moochacha. But it’s worth remembering when I prepare a skit that I can’t rely on facial expressions and gestures to convey my meaning, because only the children and a few people in the pews will be able to see our body language when we sit down front.

Standing or placing my chair behind the altar rail would raise me and my puppet to a more visible altitude. Those options aren’t ideal, though. If I stand, I’ll tower above the children, which doesn’t create as comfortable an atmosphere as I’d like. If I move my chair up behind the altar rail, where would the kids sit? All in all, it’s something to give more thought and prayer to.

Goodbye, script

Leaving the pulpit meant leaving my script behind, too. Having had little time to rehearse, I was nervous about remembering my lines. Fortunately, the script was quite short. My delivery probably wasn’t as smooth as it would have been with the script in front of me, but the important lines popped into my head. Writing the dialogue myself probably helped it stick in my mind.

Note to self (and to you):
When writing a script, make sure each line of dialogue flows logically into the next line. That logical connection will help you remember your lines. It also makes it easier for the audience follow the conversation and pick up on the ministry message.

Of course, when you perform up close and personal with a live audience, especially kids, there’s no telling what might happen to interrupt that well-planned flow!

We’ll follow up on that thought in my next post in the Personal Puppet Ministry series: Puppeteer & Pal Meet the Kids

—Linda

Post Script (Yeah, I went there)

For those interested…

The congregational songs in the Ascension Sunday service:

• Are You Seeking the Christ verses 2–5
• The Hand of God Created Me
• Crown Him with Many Crowns
• My Footprints on Your Life

Soloist Tony Villecco sang My Forever Lord (sung in this recording by Theresa Olin).

The sermon (it’s a short one): Goodbye … for Now

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