Michael Arnold and his family were among hundreds of St. Augustine, Florida, residents who fled their homes in early October as Hurricane Matthew trailed close behind.
And while St. Augustine, known as the nation’s oldest city, didn’t take a direct hit from the hurricane, coastal flooding from its storm surge and near-
hurricane-force winds wreaked havoc for many who call it home. Financial reports released Dec. 12 indicate it sustained an estimated $7.1 million in damage.
When the bridges reopened in October and Arnold returned home after a three-day mandatory evacuation, he discovered his garage had been flooded and roof would need to be replaced, while residents just one street away experienced catastrophic damage. “We’re living in our house,” Arnold said thankfully.
The first weekend of December marked another homecoming of sorts for Arnold as he and more than 200 members of Anastasia Baptist Church, St. Augustine, debuted their Christmas musical, “The Innkeeper Presents — We Call Him Savior.”
The play, which chronicles the life of Christ from His birth to His crucifixion, resurrection and expectant return, was written and produced by church members Donna and Ray Garner.
For Arnold, who played a minor role in the church’s Christmas musical two years ago, the opportunity to play the role of Jacob, a modern-day innkeeper, is symbolic of his real-life discovery of Jesus as his personal Savior.
‘New man’
“I’m a new man,” Arnold, a 46-year-old language arts teacher, said of his spiritual rebirth in mid-life. “I’m completely different than I was two years ago.”
Ray Garner, 68, a financial planner and former church planter/music minister, said that’s “the No. 1 purpose” of the script his wife wrote to go along with the 19-song arrangement, which also includes several original lyrical and musical compositions written by church members.
The one-hour and 40-minute production featured a 40-member adult choir, 27-member orchestra and nearly 30-member children’s ensemble including six classical ballet dancers.
“Our purpose is to equate the baby in the manger with the God-man who went to the cross and was crucified and resurrected,” Garner said. “He had to die so that we could live.”
David Elder, Anastasia Baptist’s worship pastor since 2005, said that since the church’s first production of “The Innkeeper” in 2009, new characters, plot developments and musical compositions are added with each subsequent production.
Standing strong
Wynne Toler, a 55-year-old draftsman for a steel fabrication company, has portrayed the first-century innkeeper named Yacob since the beginning of the production.
In a church that averages about 1,500 people for weekly worship, Toler still isn’t sure how he landed the role but he’s glad for it.
And when Hurricane Matthew left a swath of destruction across the barrier island south of Jacksonville, Toler said, there was never a doubt that the church’s Christmas musical would still happen.
“The message is way too important,” he said. “Sometimes God sends us challenges to find out how really committed we are to Him.”
Since Hurricane Matthew’s onslaught in October, church volunteers have helped about 130 families, more than half of whom aren’t members of Anastasia Baptist, with recovery efforts.
Southern Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers from around the state as well as Alabama also have helped repair flood and wind-ravaged homes.
Meanwhile, about 1,500 people attended the church’s Christmas musical Dec. 2 and Dec. 4 in the christian life center on the Island campus, though the outdoor Bethlehem Village had to be scaled back because church volunteers had been focused on storm recovery outreach efforts. (BP)
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