Theatre, choral music, and narration will all play a part in telling the story of the reformation on stage at the Mennonite Heritage Village Sunday evening.

Sylvia Nilsson-Barkman is the Chair of the Reformation Committee at the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church which is presenting ‘Here I stand’. She notes to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the reformation they wanted to connect with the entire protestant community here in southeastern Manitoba. She adds the reformation story will be told through multiple mediums.

"The story is told through narration and Daryl Braun is narrating it. He will be on one side of the stage at the Mennonite Heritage Village and then throughout there will be song which will mainly be by the Eastman Male Choir although there is a woman’s ensemble that will also sing. On the other side of the stage there will be little vignettes that will be played out by several actors."

Nilsson-Barkman says she wrote the script with help from a number of local pastors and the very talented David Klassen directed the piece. She notes the actors that are participating in the presentation come from many different churches all over southeastern Manitoba.

Nilsson-Barkman says even though the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church initiated ‘Here I Stand’, many denominations can trace their history back to the reformation and their script touches on them all.

"Every church in our community is identified, the origins of that church is explained in the narration and for some of them, in the vignettes as well. We have not left out any church, in fact I went to five different churches and asked their pastors to help with the script so that it would be accurate and they would be satisfied in the way that they were described."

Nilsson-Barkman says the reformation was a major event that shook the world and resulted in many divisions. She notes it is amazing to see talk of unity and respect between congregations 500 years later.