For the first week of June two, one-night each, encore Fathom Events are scheduled in theaters: June 1st, In Our Hands, and June 3rd, Jonah: On Stage! These two films are the top pick family, redemptive films in theaters for the first week June. In Our Hands is appropriate for teens through adults and Jonah: On Stage! is appropriate for all ages.
A CBN Documentaries film, In Our Hands: The Battle for Jerusalem commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Six-Day War. For centuries, their Israel had been in exile. For a generation, they had been without access to their ancestral city of Jerusalem. For six days, surrounded by enemies, Israel stood alone with God; but they changed history. In May of 1967, Arab nations joined together with the brutal goal to wipe Israel off the map. Less than 20 years after gathering and reforming as a nation, Israel was threatened and on the verge of extinction.
However, in six days in early June 1967, history was miraculously changed forever. In Our Hands tells how Israel’s 55th Paratrooper Brigade and defense forces risked everything for their homeland. With firsthand interviews and historical reenactments, this amazing docudrama reveals the commitment and sacrifice of the soldiers who reunited Jerusalem. See Sonoma ChristianHome’s coverage of the documentary and the trailer for this powerful film on Sonoma Christian Home.
June 3, Fathom Events, brings the encore of Sight and Sound’s Jonah: On Stage! See Sonoma Christian Home’s fascinating interview with Sight and Sound’s Corporate Communications Manager, Katie Miller. Also watch for Sonoma Christian Home’s amazing interview with Rodney Coe, lead performer, whose life story is a miracle.
Jonah: On Stage! spectacularly is performed not only in front of the audience, but overhead and around them. Having auditioned hundreds of actors from all over the country, Sight & Sound cast more than 50 actors for Jonah.
Jonah! on Stage features nearly three dozen live animals including sheep, highland cattle, alpacas, camels, llamas, a sheep dog, miniature donkeys, birds, horses (of course) and one skunk. The music (recorded in Prague, The Czech Republic, by the Prague Symphony Orchestra) in Jonah! on Stage is all original and is a collaboration of multiple professionals. The vocals are sung by the performers.
Included in the 70-plus set pieces is a boat weighing 30,000 pounds, which is one of the largest set pieces in Sight & Sound’s history. Production teams worked two years to create the lighting effects to take audiences through a storm and under water. The more than 1,700 lights in each performance include 100 automated lights with 100 color changes, requiring five miles of cable. All 550 costumes are the work of Sight & Sounds’ in-house staff of designers and seamstresses. Jonah! on Stage costumes include 5,500 yards of fabric, 4,000 snaps, and 250 wigs.
Every show is an epic experience with a meaningful message. Audiences enjoy edge-of-seat action with heartfelt drama on a panoramic stage. Viewers are surrounded with uplifting, profound Bible stories brought to life by an exceptional cast, spectacular special effects, massive sets, and live animals on stage, in the aisles, and overhead.
Hopefully, this production of Jonah, On Stage! will encourage us all to read and study the Biblical Book of Jonah. In Jonah’s day, Assyria was a threat to Israel, Nineveh was its great capital! Despite Jonah’s reluctance to bring God’s message to Nineveh, God used him to bring this threatening nation to repentance and faith in Him. Today some whom we have viewed as a threat (such as Muslims) are coming to faith in Christ. Could it be that we can learn from the Book of Jonah about following our Lord as He leads us in praying for, reaching out, and going to those whom we view as a potential threat?
Nineveh is today Mosul, Iraq! Maps still refer to the “Plains of Nineveh” that surround Mosul. The indigenous Assyrians continuing to live in Iraq are today one of the few Christian people groups in this entire country and providing life-changing Christian witness to this region of the world. Today we are serving this war-afflicted people and their children. God knew that wicked Ninevites would provide light in the darkness in this region until today and that we would support them.
God’s ways are not our ways and He often works most unexpectedly.
To learn more about this author, please visit Dr. Diane Howard
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