The Wicked Pie Bakers
Drama
Lectionary Scenes
57 Vignettes For Cycle A
Theme
Is the church a place where the Christian community gathers to celebrate or a place where the law is administered? Are we open or closed to new ideas? A parable.
Summary
The choir is having a bake sale and the discussion is whether that is a good or bad thing to have in church.
A light-hearted, fast-paced discussion about the Pharisees and the tax gatherers and how we can kill the Spirit of Jesus in each other by being too judgmental.
Playing Time: 3 minutes
Setting: Your church
Props: None
Costumes: Appropriate for church
Time: The present
Cast: SANDY -- announcement maker
DON -- he's hungry
JO -- reasonable
VOICE -- actually attached to a person
SAM -- A serious one
SANDY: (ENTERS. SPEAKS INTO MICROPHONE) The choir is having a bake sale to raise money for their trip to Ireland next year, so everyone go and buy the goodies that will be waiting for you and your family. The table will be set up in the fellowship hall.
DON: (FROM WAY IN THE BACK) What's that? We can't hear back here.
SANDY: Right after church in the red room.
DON: What's right after church?
JO: (IN THE CONGREGATION, NEAR DON) A bake sale.
DON: Oh, I heard that, all right. A bake sale!
SANDY: And we're praying that the Lord will bless our evangelism.
VOICE: (FROM THE CONGREGATION) Hallelujah!
SANDY: Right. Praise the Lord.
SAM: (STANDS IN CONGREGATION) I don't believe a bake sale in the church glorifies God and His work.
JO: (STANDING) Oh, I don't know. We sell stuff in the book store and that glorifies God, doesn't it?
SAM: What about the money changers in the Temple?
DON: (STANDING) If you're worried about the money changers we won't let them in this church. I'll volunteer to stand at the door Sunday and stop them. "Sir, are you a money changer? I'm sorry, you're not allowed in here. Would you mind going to the Bath Community Church, please. They might need some money changed over there."
SAM: Wise guy. This is serious. Do you think we ought to have bake sales in the church?
DON: Well, no, I don't.
SAM: There, you see.
DON: But having them in the fellowship hall is fine with me.
JO: You can't put God in a box.
DON: No, but you can put cookies in a box. I know, a box cake. I'll even buy a box cake.
SAM: "You can't put God in a box." What's that, the slogan for the week? There have to be some rules in churches, don't you think? Otherwise people will just do whatever they want. Like Israel back in the times of the judges.
JO: Sometimes I wonder if it was good for you to take that Bible study course.
SAM: Everyone who joins the church should be required to take the same course I did.
DON: Lord, help us.
SAM: What's that supposed to mean?
DON: "Lord help us"? It means we need help so why not pray. You see, prayer is an open line to God which we can use to ask for things, petition God, or we can just say praise the Lord.
VOICE: Hallelujah!
SAM: What we need is the sword of the Lord to reap some judgment around here.
JO: And you'd be the sword, eh?
SAM: No, Jesus is the sword of judgment. To clean out the church -- to set us on the straight and narrow path again. If everyone would give their tithe as it states clearly in the scriptures we wouldn't have to have bake sales to raise money.
JO: Or book stores.
SAM: Well, maybe so. I think we have to do some repenting ...
VOICE: Praise God!
SAM: Yes, we have to do some repenting about the attitudes we have about how to run a church. Bake sales -- really!
DON: I can't wait to buy some of Jan's fudge.
SAM: We can't be running our church like General Motors.
DON: How about a foreign import -- Danish pastry.
SAM: I see I can't talk to you.
JO: You can talk, but will you listen?
SAM: I get so fed up with people not doing right around here. I told Pam just the other day that she had to get her act together or the Lord was going to punish her.
DON: Remember those chocolate chip cookies Nancy baked for the Christmas party last year?
JO: Why don't you pray for people in the church? When's the last time you prayed for Roger?
SAM: Roger, the pastor? Well, I don't know.
JO: Instead of finding fault with everyone and what they do in the church, why don't you start praying for people?
SAM: I did pray for Dean last week. He asked me to. Had a sinus infection, I think it was.
JO: Well, that's a start, I guess.
DON: Do you know how many sheep it takes to make a Texas sheep cake?
SAM: Can we go somewhere and talk?
JO: Will you listen?
SAM: I have some legitimate complaints about this church, I think.
JO: Okay, let's go talk.
SAM: There are some things I want to get off my chest.
DON: Chess pie. I hope Wilma baked her delicious chess pie.
SANDY: Well, anyway, go to the bake sale. It's for the Lord's work. If you're wondering what this vignette had to do with today's gospel reading, don't worry, Pastor Roger will sort it all out for us and it will be a blessing.
VOICE: Amen!
Is the church a place where the Christian community gathers to celebrate or a place where the law is administered? Are we open or closed to new ideas? A parable.
Summary
The choir is having a bake sale and the discussion is whether that is a good or bad thing to have in church.
A light-hearted, fast-paced discussion about the Pharisees and the tax gatherers and how we can kill the Spirit of Jesus in each other by being too judgmental.
Playing Time: 3 minutes
Setting: Your church
Props: None
Costumes: Appropriate for church
Time: The present
Cast: SANDY -- announcement maker
DON -- he's hungry
JO -- reasonable
VOICE -- actually attached to a person
SAM -- A serious one
SANDY: (ENTERS. SPEAKS INTO MICROPHONE) The choir is having a bake sale to raise money for their trip to Ireland next year, so everyone go and buy the goodies that will be waiting for you and your family. The table will be set up in the fellowship hall.
DON: (FROM WAY IN THE BACK) What's that? We can't hear back here.
SANDY: Right after church in the red room.
DON: What's right after church?
JO: (IN THE CONGREGATION, NEAR DON) A bake sale.
DON: Oh, I heard that, all right. A bake sale!
SANDY: And we're praying that the Lord will bless our evangelism.
VOICE: (FROM THE CONGREGATION) Hallelujah!
SANDY: Right. Praise the Lord.
SAM: (STANDS IN CONGREGATION) I don't believe a bake sale in the church glorifies God and His work.
JO: (STANDING) Oh, I don't know. We sell stuff in the book store and that glorifies God, doesn't it?
SAM: What about the money changers in the Temple?
DON: (STANDING) If you're worried about the money changers we won't let them in this church. I'll volunteer to stand at the door Sunday and stop them. "Sir, are you a money changer? I'm sorry, you're not allowed in here. Would you mind going to the Bath Community Church, please. They might need some money changed over there."
SAM: Wise guy. This is serious. Do you think we ought to have bake sales in the church?
DON: Well, no, I don't.
SAM: There, you see.
DON: But having them in the fellowship hall is fine with me.
JO: You can't put God in a box.
DON: No, but you can put cookies in a box. I know, a box cake. I'll even buy a box cake.
SAM: "You can't put God in a box." What's that, the slogan for the week? There have to be some rules in churches, don't you think? Otherwise people will just do whatever they want. Like Israel back in the times of the judges.
JO: Sometimes I wonder if it was good for you to take that Bible study course.
SAM: Everyone who joins the church should be required to take the same course I did.
DON: Lord, help us.
SAM: What's that supposed to mean?
DON: "Lord help us"? It means we need help so why not pray. You see, prayer is an open line to God which we can use to ask for things, petition God, or we can just say praise the Lord.
VOICE: Hallelujah!
SAM: What we need is the sword of the Lord to reap some judgment around here.
JO: And you'd be the sword, eh?
SAM: No, Jesus is the sword of judgment. To clean out the church -- to set us on the straight and narrow path again. If everyone would give their tithe as it states clearly in the scriptures we wouldn't have to have bake sales to raise money.
JO: Or book stores.
SAM: Well, maybe so. I think we have to do some repenting ...
VOICE: Praise God!
SAM: Yes, we have to do some repenting about the attitudes we have about how to run a church. Bake sales -- really!
DON: I can't wait to buy some of Jan's fudge.
SAM: We can't be running our church like General Motors.
DON: How about a foreign import -- Danish pastry.
SAM: I see I can't talk to you.
JO: You can talk, but will you listen?
SAM: I get so fed up with people not doing right around here. I told Pam just the other day that she had to get her act together or the Lord was going to punish her.
DON: Remember those chocolate chip cookies Nancy baked for the Christmas party last year?
JO: Why don't you pray for people in the church? When's the last time you prayed for Roger?
SAM: Roger, the pastor? Well, I don't know.
JO: Instead of finding fault with everyone and what they do in the church, why don't you start praying for people?
SAM: I did pray for Dean last week. He asked me to. Had a sinus infection, I think it was.
JO: Well, that's a start, I guess.
DON: Do you know how many sheep it takes to make a Texas sheep cake?
SAM: Can we go somewhere and talk?
JO: Will you listen?
SAM: I have some legitimate complaints about this church, I think.
JO: Okay, let's go talk.
SAM: There are some things I want to get off my chest.
DON: Chess pie. I hope Wilma baked her delicious chess pie.
SANDY: Well, anyway, go to the bake sale. It's for the Lord's work. If you're wondering what this vignette had to do with today's gospel reading, don't worry, Pastor Roger will sort it all out for us and it will be a blessing.
VOICE: Amen!
