History of the PASSION PLAY
In the little village of Oberammergau, Germany 373 years ago, the Bubonic plague was taking its toll as it ran rampant over Europe. Citizens of whole towns were being wiped out by this horrible plague. The villagers met in their church and made a vow to God that if their village was spared from this horrible plague, they would do something to honor him, in perpetuity.
No more deaths from the plague occurred in the village following that vow. Many other European villages had made the same vow. The villagers in Oberammergau, Germany kept theirs. Since that time, every 10 years the villagers have presented The PASSION PLAY. It has become so renowned that Christians from literally all over the world go to Germany to see this 7 hour production.
SEVEN HOURS ! ! ! Yes, the production begins just after lunch, with a break mid-afternoon, then an early evening break for dinner. Dinners for the audience are included in the price of the admission, and are reserved at various places around the town, so the whole audience can have dinner and be back for the final session in the evening in an orderly manner.
Someone asked “Why would I, a Christian from Tennessee, want to attend a 7 hour production of the PASSION of CHRIST, produced in the German language? The answer is “We have read the book, we know the events of the plot, and we know that it ends victoriously ! !” Folks who have been there before say there is no problem at all in following the production. Also, in the past there have been printed ‘follow along’ guides in various languages should you wish to use them.
Additional information about the Passion Play is available on the web by Googling “Passion Play-Oberammergau”.
Summary:
The church or group will provide publicity within their congregation(s)/membership for the trip; MoeFaye Travel, Inc. will organize and handle the details of the trip; and when they have traveled, will return to your church or group 5 % of the full purchase price paid by your group’s twenty or more members who accompany us to the Passion Play.
We will be staying at hotels actually within the village of Oberammergau or in Garmish which is very near; will have reserved seating for the Passion Play; group travel arrangements including r.t. air to/from Knoxville; enjoy the services of an English-speaking professional Collette Vacations tour guide who will be with the group from its arrival in Italy until departure back to Tennessee. The 11 total days of the trip will include two days traveling to/from Europe; 2 days in Oberammergau; and seven days touring Italy, Switzerland, Austria and Southern Germany.
2010 may seem like a long time away, but for this event, it is not. The pricing and space will be available only until July 1, 2008. After that, any unsold space will be open to the general public and Collette Vacations expect that any space not sold by their tour operators (others like MoeFaye Travel) will be sold out within the following 30 days. We are making this trip twice during 2010; once in May and again in September. Those spots are reserved until July 1 only.
If this is something your members would be interested in, please contact us as soon as possible so we can begin working out specific details for them. July 1 is the FINAL date for guaranteeing space and price. Pick your travel dates and start recruiting now.
Thank you for your consideration.
Faye & ‘Moe’ Greenwood, MoeFaye Travel.
Coordinators for the Covenant PASSPORT Travel Program.
