12 Baskets and a Goat

12 Baskets and a Goat is a project of Ted & Co, Heifer International, and Church of the Brethren to raise awareness of poverty and empower communities to restore dignity to those in need, by raising funds for Heifer’s work around the world.

THE SHOW

The Jesus Stories, written and performed by Ted Swartz and Jeff Raught, featuring original, beautiful (and hilarious) songs/music by Jeff, asks two questions….what are we having to eat and who are we eating it with? It’s a question, but also an invitation. Stories in the Gospels place Jesus eating with people, all kinds of people, at all kinds of places. This is a play about Jesus and food; about what we need every day to sustain us, nourish us, and connect us with God and with others. Food as a place of hospitality and relationship. The play blends humor, theological insight and serious reflection.

HOW THE EVENT WORKS

The program will feature the play, interrupted at two intervals to auction off home-made bread, symbols of life and sustenance, in a spirit of giving, humor, and community-building. The 12 baskets which will hold these breads allude to the Gospel account of the 12 baskets made full by fragments given and received in faith and love. This Jesus story invites all of us to participate in the reality of enough for all and multiplied blessing made real. We will also auction off goats, flocks of ducks, and other fun animals featured in the Heifer store. All funds raised during the auction and donation will go to Heifer International for their continued good work relieving poverty around the world.

HARRISONBURG PILOT SHOW VENUE

The very first pilot show will take place in Harrisonburg, VA, scheduled for November 14, 2015 at the old Sale Barn, on Sunny Slope Farm, just days before Charles Wampler, Jr.’s 100th birthday. The Farm is a certified Virginia Century Farm, owned and operated by the same family on the same land, providing food to the community for 186 years.

The Sale Barn, and the Wampler family farm have a long history in the Brethren Church, going back to the 1800’s. The restoration of the barn, leading up to the show, echoes the call to our own need for restoration back to the lands from which we are fed and grown, both spiritually and physically. This is a call to the restoration of roots and relationships. Our own rootedness in the specific places that we love. The rootedness of Heifer International with its foundations in Church of the Brethren, and how that intersects right here in Harrisonburg with the continuing story of land, food, and compassionate care for others.

For booking or more information contact Valerie Serrels, Project Coordinator/ Ted & Co office@tedandcompany.com / 540-560-3973