..................................1109 Maple Court
..................................Waterville, Ohio 43566

..................................October 10, 1995

Mr. James Rudes
Senior Warden
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
310 Elizabeth Street
Maumee, Ohio 43537

Dear Jim,

.....Last Palm Sunday I enjoyed Easter of Claudia more
than expected. I had previously read and enjoyed the play
but was surprisingly impressed when it came to life in our
chapel; thanks to the actors and your direction. I
remembered when you spoke at a vestry meeting of your desire
for our church to have religious drama. I really did not
have much enthusiasm for the matter until seeing Father
Green's play.

.....Well, our dear friend and playwright, John R. Green,
has done it again. His new play, A Carol of Reconciling,
would have us revisit the Holocaust in preparation for the
coming of our Lord. When John first shared the basic idea
for the play with me I was delighted and supportive.
During his preparation, I went with John to the
Holocaust Memorial Center in Bloomfield, Michigan
just across the border. Once again I was reminded of
the monstrosity that can extrude from the human heart.

.....The Swastika is the Flyfoot Cross which may have been
the only form of cross used by the Christians of the second
and third centuries. In the twentieth century it may have
seemed quite compatible for the flags with this symbol,
representing a new Germany, to be next to Christian banners
flown both outside and inside the established churches of
Germany.

.....In a country full of magnificent churches and shrines,
hatred displaced God. Evil became accepted as good. Sin
leaned on the unforgivable for the perpetrators rationalized
that the will of God was being fulfilled. Yes, this was
largely a Christian nation of people not unlike ourselves.
Elements leading to the Holocaust are not so unusual and are
ever present. The world is never fully secure from such
horror.

.....Other nations of the world initially looked on in
disbelief at the Nazi monster. Their initial inaction and
attempts to keep distant from the whole situation made it
difficult to find innocence. This monstosity made
onlookers accomplices and instilled guilt even in its
victims.

.....The Holocaust ended half a century ago and fades in our
memory. There are those who would have us forget and even
have us think that it was an exaggeration and never really
happened. Remembering is not a morbid obsession but a means
by which we can express our love to those millions who so
terribly died. By doing so, we instill and maintain an
abhorrence in all our hearts for such atrocities. We remain
sober to the potential for their reappearance. And we
become more appreciative of the entering of the Prince of
Peace into the world.

.....A Carol of Reconciling is John and Loretta Green's
Christmas gift to the Holocaust victims on this 50th
anniversary of the end of World War II. It is also a gift
to their beloved Episcopal church to be shared with all.

.....The play emphasizes the differing agonies of those who
survived and the healing potential of our Lord and Savior.
Weaved into the dialogue are many of the essential topics
that we struggle with as we attempt to follow Christ: Sin,
evil, hatred, guilt, blame, forgiveness, innocence, prayer,
faith, repentance, yet hope in Christ.

.....Music is used to reflect Immanuel. Abused in the Nazi
death camps, denied and stifled in the hearts of those who
survived, yet ever remaining to heal and bring peace if only
allowed. Against the ugly backdrop of the Holocaust the
significance of Christ's entry into the world is made even
more poignant. And we are challenged to also allow that
true Christmas.

.....Please, convey my enthusiasm for A Carol of Reconciling
to the Vestry and Clergy of St. Paul's Episcopal Church,
Maumee. I hope that the play may be seen produced by the
Episcopal Church. It would be a beautiful and timely
memorial - A powerful Christmas gift for all.

..............................Love,

..............................Dave Watts

..............................Parishioner
..............................St. Paul's Episcopal Church
..............................Maumee, Ohio


Enclosures (Below): Holocaust Memorial Center Posters

CC: John and Loretta Green

Select poster to vist the Holocaust Memorial Center's history page

Select poster to vist the Holocaust Memorial Center's history page