Hi Friends —
Three people have convinced me that puppets can change our life in unknown ways—Mr. Rogers (with Daniel Tiger) on Public Television, Frank Ballard, who founded the puppeteer community at the University of Connecticut, where I want to college in the early 1970s, and a woman I will introduce in moment.
Everyone knows Mr. Rogers. Let me tell you about Mr. Ballard and his wife Ada Ruth. The Ballards were friends of mine at Storrs Congregatonal Church. I was the janitor at the church for 2 years and Mrs. Ballard, Ada Ruth, served as the church secretary for many years. Spring Burrington, one of Mr. Ballard's students and a great song leader, blessed our small student group Friday afternoons when we concluded our week with prayer and Sunday evenings when we reassembled for Spaghetti and sharing. It was, for me, Sesame Street.
Have you been blessed by a puppeteer? Is it possible that their gift of imagination is as powerful as love and wisdom? Is it possible that we need to raise up and emulate the work they do and recognize how puppets can bless others in unknown ways? Is it possible that a humble puppet can be our own spiritual guide?
I believe so. Puppeteers transform lives. They know our answers lie within us. And their puppets draw out those answers. They transport us to a world where our perceived limitations no longer exist.
The 3rd person who transforms lives with puppets is is Rose Mayer. Larry and MaryEllen Swartz, longtime ministers in Tucson, remember Rose as an upbeat and positive mother of a boy who attended their Unity school in Tucson.
Rose is also known as The Tucson Puppet Lady. She provides patterns for people to create and construct their own puppet. Go here to learn more. And if you don't yet see the ministry in Rose's work, read on.
Rose and I exchanged some emails earlier this year. We had been sharing ideas about how puppetry can reach people's heart and soul in profound ways. I mentioned that the UFBL has a much beloved founder. Rose responded:
I've been doing quite a bit of thinking about your ideas. ... What really piqued my interest was your remark about how the Johnnie Coleman folks would go nuts. I feel that it is kind of important for them to have her puppet sooner than later. What I'd like to do is send the pattern as a pdf to someone in the organization who would know who it needs to get to. I will donate the Person Puppet pattern to them. (I do a lot of donating patterns to worthy causes and what they are doing is the most worthy in my mind.)
The Person Puppet pattern is the pattern that I would use personally. It is a simple pattern using fleece, felt and poly fill and the finished puppet could be hand washed. The pattern is sized for older kids (elementary age) and adult hands. It can be reduced to fit a toddler or enlarged for stage use. I would customize each puppet to match the new thought icon with flesh tone matching fleece, shape of nose, eyes, hair (doll wig, felt or yarn, inexpensive hair extensions or wigs) and clothing to resemble the person.
In my experience, most of the time after my customers make the blank puppet they become so creative to make their own individualized puppet to match what they have in mind. I'm positive there are many creative people in the organization that would have a ball making Johnnie the way she is meant to be made - matching their image of what she should look like. And there has to be people who experienced her in person that could help with ideas to put Johnnie's essence in the puppet.
Well, after writing all of that I've decided I definitely want to donate the pattern so they can take the ball and run with it. I offer my assistance via email if they need any help with sewing or ideas. How shall I go about that? Do you have a contact in mind? Do you want me to contact them or you? I can send the pdf to you and you can forward? What is the easiest for you?
I want to open this idea up to include Ruth Mosley, the beloved founder of the Unity Urban Ministerial School. So we have Johnnie and Ruth in the banner of this page, along with the girl puppet that Rose offers to help you design and create personal puppets of Johnnie and Ruth.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if by this February, Black History Month, we are able to see some personal puppets of Johnnie Colemon and Ruth Mosley? Wouldn't it be helpful for youth ministers and Sunday school teachers to have the puppets of Johnnie and Ruth to help instill their messages? Wouldn't it be a blessing if parents were able to see their children to bed with a puppet and sharing stories of Johnnie Colemon and Ruth Mosley?
No doubt this email will reach people who can make that happen. For those who can, I want to make an offer:
TruthUnity will donate $500 to the ministry that creates the best puppet of Johnnie Colemon and $500 to the ministry that creates the best puppet of Ruth Mosley. The contest begins now and concludes Sunday, January 5. I will post on this page all the photos received and ask Rev. Sheila McKeithen to select her favorite Johnnie Colemon puppet and Rev. Sandra Campbell to select her favorite Ruth Mosley puppet.
Each entry must send me some photographs of their puppet, share how they created the puppet, and be willing to help others reproduce their puppet.
Rose has offered to donate her pattern, but anyone with interest in this project will gladly give her $5 for the person puppet and $2 for the costume. Beyond that, your cost is the cost of materials and your time. And it will be time well spent. Are you looking for a Christmas project?
To get started, see the second video on this page where Rose shows how to make your puppet. The pattern is an automated download from her website or Etsy. You can have it in a few minutes. Rose is offering her help. Leave her a message on her website. She'll get back to you.
Mr. Rogers and Mr. Ballard were much alike: humble, open-hearted, and deeply insightful. They had success in television and academia, places where the humble are too often overlooked. Most of you are attending or leading a ministry. And you want to see people blessed. This project may seem crazy. But, who knows? Maybe we all need a puppet.
Wednesday, December 11, 2024
