Al Staggs
A former pastor who combines his passions of writing, acting and peace and justice concerns will lead spring spiritual life week at EMU.
Al Staggs, a full-time performing artist from Santa Fe, N.M., will speak on the theme, “Faithful Followers,” and give dramatic interpretations based on the lives of well-known Christians who gave their lives for the cause of the message of Christ.
He will present “Stories of the Faithful” in university chapel 10 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 12.
At 7:30 p.m. that day, he will give a performance, “The Legacy of Dietrich Bonhoeffer,” based on the life of the German theologian (1906-1945). Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran pastor, participant in the German Resistance movement against Nazism and a founding member of the Confessing Church. He was arrested in March 1943 for his involvement in plots to assassinate Adolf Hitler, imprisoned, and eventually hanged just before the end of World War II.
Mark Thiessen Nation, at Eastern Mennonite Seminary, will lead a follow-up discussion.
Staggs will give a performance on “Clarence Jordan and the God Movement,” 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 13, in Martin Chapel of the seminary building. Jordan (1912-1969), a farmer and New Testament Greek scholar, was the founder of Koinonia Farm, a small but influential religious community in southwest Georgia and the author of the “Cotton Patch” translations of the New Testament. He was also instrumental in the founding of Habitat for Humanity.
Staggs will give a dramatic reading from memory of the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7) at noon Feb. 13 in the west dining room of the university cafeteria.
Staggs will conclude the series with a performance of “Oscar Romero: A Martyr’s Homily,” 7:30 p.m. Feb. 13 in Martin Chapel. Romero (1917-1980) was a Roman Catholic priest, and later archbishop, in El Salvador who spoke out on behalf of the poor and victims of the country’s civil war. In 1980, he was assassinated shortly after giving a homily, provoking international outcry for reform in El Salvador.
Background in Peace and Justice
During post-graduate studies, Staggs was increasingly drawn to individuals in recent history who had devoted their lives to justice and peace concerns. After two decades of work as a parish minister, he felt called to to involvement in the performing arts and to working for peace and justice.
Twenty years ago, Staggs combined these two passions by writing and performing a one-person play that takes his audience into the prison cell of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. A few years later, he left the pastoral ministry and began a career as a full-time performing artist, adding characterizations of Clarence Jordan, Archbishop Oscar Romero, Trappist monk Thomas Merton and theologian and Baptist minister Walter Rauschenbusch to his program repertoire, seeking to bring these notable figures to life and sharing their relevant messages with audiences around the world.
The presentations are open to everyone free of charge. Donations are welcomed.
For more information on spiritual life week events, contact Brian Martin Burkholder, campus pastor, 540-432-4196.