Members of the Slavic Baptist Church youth group recently attended the Manitoba Passion Play for what proved to be a moving and memorable experience — with several first-time attendees deeply impacted by seeing the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus portrayed on stage.
“It was like I was in the time of Jesus”
For youth leader Ivan, it was his first time attending a Passion Play.
"You know, before it was only for like Christmas," he said. "Like Jesus is born and that's it. And angels are singing... But I haven’t seen the life of Jesus from when he was born to the resurrection. It was like I’m in the time of Jesus in front of my eyes."
Ivan was introduced to the Slavic Baptist Church through a youth conference. “I got to know the leader of that church... and since that time, we’ve been friends, talking sometimes. And I decided to get here, continue my life.”
Organizing a group effort to attend
Luba Sharapova, one of the youth leaders involved in helping organize events for the church, played a big role in coordinating attendance. She reached out during a "cue to call" on Golden West radio station The Eagle 93.5 FM, and was able to win in a bigger way than she bargained for.
“There is about 30 of us — not all of us went — but I was pretty excited because I was the one organizing the tickets and trying to get group deals and passes for all of us,” she explained. “When I heard you on the radio that day, I was like, wow, this is such a cool opportunity because I hadn’t bought them yet.”
After securing free tickets through the radio's partnership with the Manitoba Passion Play, the entire group was able to attend.
“It was really cool to be able to get 30. That was awesome,” said Luba. “The youth was pretty excited and there was quite a bit of us that were first-time there.”
“It’s become a tradition”
Tanya, another member of the Slavic Baptist youth group, was one of those who had seen the Passion Play before.
“It was definitely not my first time, but it’s become like a tradition to go every single year,” she shared. “I was definitely excited because... the snacks and stuff,” she added with a smile. “But I was of course also excited for the Passion Play.”
When asked what stood out most this year, she said, “Definitely the scene about the woman washing Jesus’ feet with the perfume. I don’t think that was in the play last year... it really touched me.”
Tanya also shared her favourite Bible verse: “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done.” (Philippians 4:6)
Experiencing the story in real life
Sam, who moved to Canada from Russia four years ago, also attended the Passion Play for the first time.
“It was wonderful. It was great,” he said. “I’ve seen the movie Passion of the Christ, but the play was more realistic because there’s actual people... When you see it in real life, it’s not the same as in the movie.”
One element that stood out was the use of live animals: “I really liked that they use real animals and stuff... but you can’t touch the donkey,” he laughed.
Sam also spoke about how he found the church: “My dad wanted to find a Russian church so he could understand, and somebody told him about that church. And then we just started going there.”
He recently marked a milestone in his faith journey. “I also got baptized... June 22nd.”
Unity across backgrounds
Another youth member, Vlad, recently graduated and has lived in Canada for 12 years since moving from Ukraine at the age of six.
“It’s nice. I mean, it’s peaceful. The community here is great, a lot of good people,” he said. “The only downside compared to Ukraine is they have a lot of flat fields... but in Ukraine, there were a lot of hills, mountains, rivers.”
Attending the Passion Play for the first time, Vlad said, “It was really good — the actors were amazing. The live music was good. I also liked that they had live animals.”
He added with a smile, “Probably the donkey was my favourite. He was just in the middle of everything... just started throwing a rag around playing with it. I think everybody was watching the donkey at that point.”
One weekend remaining in the 25th anniversary season
Manitoba’s award-winning Passion Play is celebrating its 25th season — and there’s still one more chance to experience it. The final weekend of performances takes place July 11th, 12th, and 13th. For tickets, showtimes, and full details, visit passionplay.ca.