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Ministry will present Passion Play on front lawn of Westminster Abbey

"He Lives!"© was written and designed by a Florida outreach when Chuck Colson's Prison Fellowship Ministry expressed a desire for Revelation Ministries to share a version of a passion play with inmates, reports Michael Ireland, chief correspondent, ASSIST News Service.

Originally created to conform to prison security guidelines, "He Lives!"© is an intentionally minimalist musical production that depicts all scenic pieces, including the manger, the cross, and the tomb, through creative costuming. It is written to appeal to a younger audience and features more contemporary music.

South Florida's Revelation Ministries was chosen today by the hierarchy and officials of London's Westminster Abbey to present the Passion Play on the Abbey's front lawn on May 10.

This is the first time in Westminster Abbey's history that this area has been used for a group like this. Official stewards will be provided for the cast members, who have been permitted to perform the show, "He Lives!"©, just once, as a major highlight of a citywide three-day festival, Pentecost 08.

The interdenominational all-volunteer cast of "He Lives!"© is comprised of 34 individuals drawn from 15 churches in South Florida and North Carolina, and represents five denominations - fulfilling the ministry's mission to train and equip people to share the hope of Jesus Christ through the performing arts worldwide, seeking to build a bridge between denominations and the local body of Christ in our efforts to fulfill the Great Commission.

The group, including volunteer staff members, Revelation Ministries founder/president Travis Johnson, who was part of the 600-cast Ft. Lauderdale Christmas Pageant's production leadership from 1984 to 1997, and "He Lives!"© director Jan Moore, the Ft. Lauderdale Christmas Pageant's former director and a member of its founding creative team, will depart from Ft. Lauderdale on May 4. The cast will perform in three other venues around London before the inaugural performance at Westminster Abbey on May 10.

Revelation Ministries was founded in 1995 by Johnson, who felt a calling to take a full-scale pageant to Russia. Since then the ministry has produced three full pageants in Ukraine, with casts drawn from Kiev and Donetsk, in collaboration with Ukraine's mega- church pastor, Reverend Sunday Adelaja. There are two more productions currently in development and Johnson hopes to produce a pageant in Russia within the next five years.

The May 10 performance of "He Lives!"© is the first time in Westminster Abbey's history that this space in front of the building has been used for this purpose. The oldest parts of the Westminster Abbey date back to 1050. As England's coronation church since 1066, the Abbey has been the setting for the crowning of every British monarch since William the Conqueror. It is also the final resting place of seventeen monarchs, including Henry V and Elizabeth I, and was the site of Princess Diana's funeral.

Revelation Ministries was founded by Travis Johnson in 1995. Its mission is to train and equip people to share the hope of Jesus Christ through the performing arts worldwide, seeking to build a bridge between denominations and the local body of Christ in our efforts to fulfill the Great Commission. The ministry currently produces shows in Ukraine and South Florida, in collaboration with national churches. These musical pageants depict the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, and the cast of these productions is always comprised of national volunteer choir members.

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[03/25/2008]

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