Northwest Tour 2015

I had a blast driving over 2000 miles throughout the Pacific Northwest. You can follow my adventures via #NWTour15 on Facebook and Instragram.

Here's the itinerary:

Twin Rocks, OR
August 11
part of Big Fish Little Worm
Twin Rocks Friends Camp
Joni and Friends
www.RichDrama.com/BigFishLittleWorm

Metolius, OR
August 13
The Revelation
Metolius Friends Church

Meridian, ID
August 16, 9:15 and 11am
The Revelation
Meridian Friends Church

Twin Rocks, OR
August 18
part of Big Fish Little Worm
Twin Rocks Friends Camp
Joni and Friends
www.RichDrama.com/BigFishLittleWorm

Ashland, OR
August 23
Big Fish Little Worm
First Baptist Church of Ashland
FBCAshland.com


Sign Up to get the announcement when registration opens for the 2016 Rocky Mountain Christian Filmmakers Camp.

Oncoming Truck

This is one of five student films we created at The Rocky Mountain Christian Filmmakers Camp this summer: "Oncoming Truck."

The excuses we use in evangelism sure sound silly when used to warn people they’re about to be hit by a truck.



Sign Up to get the announcement when registration opens for the next The Rocky Mountain Christian Filmmakers Camp.

Review

Rich and Joyce Swingle
in Indescribable
I had been praying since the mid-90s that I could sell DVDs of films in which I've performed at performances of my one-man plays. It's so exciting to see that prayer being answered as more and more of the films in which I've performed are becoming available.

For so long I've heard that there's nothing out there in film or television that is appropriate for families or glorifies God. Times have changed and there is now a host of programming that points people to the Lord, and the bar of excellence keeps being raised.  I keep a steadily growing list of titles:

Here are some of the places you can find them:

-ChristianMovies.com
-PureFlix.com

-ChristianFilms.com
-ChristianCinema.com
-Christian Book Distributors
-FamilyChristian.com
-FishFlix.com
-IAmFlix.com
-Koorong.com (Australia)
-NewDayChristian.com
-VisionVideo.com


If you know of others please post them in a comment below!

Now secular media is not excited about this movement, and very often these films do not have massive advertising budgets. They are relying on word of mouth for distribution.

I hope you'll consider telling others how much you like the Christian films you see. If it's one of my films please visit www.IMDb.me/RichSwingle. Click on the film title, and on the page that opens you'll find 1 to 10 stars and a link to write a review. It offers a number of ways to login or create an account. If the film has Facebook and Twitter pages you'll find Like and Follow buttons in the right hand column. Please post your review to your own social media pages as well.

If you have more time, rank and review the film on the following:

-RottenTomatoes.com
-Fandango.com
-ChristianFilmDatabase.com

Also, Love/Like the film's Twitter and Facebook pages. On Facebook click on the three dots next to "message" and click on "invite friends". Then go through and invite your friends to like the page.

If you're short on time, just leave a review in a comment below and I'll post it when and where I'm able. Be sure to mention the title of the film and at least your first name.

I hope you'll take the time to rate and review!

Thanks so much!!!
Rich and Joyce Swingle

Be Countercultural: Tell the Truth

Joyce illuminates Exodus 20:16 with Acts 5:1-11.



This service is available for download free on iTunes, where you can also subscribe to our podcast. Search for "Westchester Chapel" on the iTunes Store.

If you want to more about starting a relationship with Jesus Christ visit WestchesterChapel.org/Salvation.

The Death of Ananias, by Raphael.





Photo courtesy of NicolettiPhoto.com.

Sign Up to get the announcement when registration opens for the 2016 Rocky Mountain Christian Filmmakers Camp.

Also, we're now taking sign-ups for Rio Ready.

In His Steps for a Soup Kitchen

Enjoying a Milky Mulkey Mocha
with the Mulkeys who inspired it.

On my tour of the Northwest I got to perform The Revelation with musical interludes by Ron Mulkey, who was my youth pastor a few decades back. It was such a joy to work with him again!

The next evening they hosted some poor from the community for a meal. I'd served many such meals during my days as an intern at The Lamb's Theatre in NYC, so I threw on the plastic gloves, apron and a grin. Afterward we invited them to watch In His Steps, in which I play a character who runs a soup kitchen. Right from the opening sequence the diners were talking back to the screen! "That's how it is!" It was telling their story of being kicked when they're down. They traveled with the characters to the challenging finish, closer to the homeless carpenter who died for them. And they were begging for their own copy of the film!

Read more about my adventures on my Northwest Tour.
 

Choose to Trust God

Pastor Joyce Swingle preached on Exodus 20:15 with Genesis 3:1-7. Pastor Jim Warren opened with John 14:5-7.

Rich Swingle reported on the Salvation Army's TAM Conservatory. Click here for Rich's more full report and to view the student's final performance and the artwork Rich mentioned. Rich mentioned Phillip Telfer and his documentary Captivated: Finding Freedom in a Media Captivated Culture and the Christian Worldview Film Festival. Rich performed an excerpt from Lindsay Bonilla's sketch, "Not-so-living Sacrifices and the Simple Art of Infiltration." (© Copyright 2010 by Lindsay Bonilla, performed and streamed by permission)

Pastor Joyce mentioned our trip to Sochi for the Winter Olympics. You can find out more about that at www.RichDrama.com/Sochi.

"I Surrender All": Words by Jud­son W. Van De­Vent­er, 1896, music by Win­field S. Weed­en, 1896.



Pastor Jim opened by talking about
Chris Tomlin's Worship Night in
America at Madison Square Garden.
Photo by
Associate Pastor Rachel Taylor.
This service is available for download free on iTunes, where you can also subscribe to our podcast. Search for "Westchester Chapel" on the iTunes Store.

Photo courtesy of NicolettiPhoto.com.


Now taking sign-ups for Rio Ready.

Another fantastic TAMC

I've taught, performed and/or directed at the Salvation Army's TAM Conservatory for 11 of their 15 years. I've only missed it for the Olympics and performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. This year it was just as fulfilling and rewarding as ever!

I got to speak before and after
Princess Cut.
When I realized that Princess Cut would be opening in theaters during the Conservatory I asked if they'd consider setting up a screening at a the theater to which the students could walk. I was ecstatic when they pursued that, but the theater never returned their calls. Instead, with the blessing of producer Paul Munger, they opted to show it outdoors! Since they needed to wait until dark they scheduled 75 minutes of praise and testimonies beforehand. The testimonies went long, which is always a delight! If we'd shown it in a theater we would have needed to leave on time to get to the movie, but we would have missed some amazing prayer requests and stories, including Matt Frye's. He shared that he was the result of his mother being raped when she was 16. Not only did she set aside her hopes and dreams to honor the life within her, she gave him a name which means "Gift of God." Now he's a pastor. What a great fulfilment of that prophetic name he's turned out to be, and what a picture of beauty from ashes our students would have missed had my dream of showing Princess Cut in a theater come to pass. By the way, it's not too late to bring Princess Cut to a theater near you!

One of my favorite events during ‪the Conservatory was handing out free pizza and MetroCards with our Small Group. We had a number of profound encounters, but the best from my perspective was an answer to a very specific prayer. We prayed that we'd be able to introduce someone to the Lord. A woman accepted a MetroCard, and when asked if we could pray for her, she said she'd like the city to become easier. One of our students prayed for her, and our group leader, Chuck Goodin, noticed that she wiped her eye after the prayer. I mentioned to her that she must be new to the city. She said, "Oh, no. I've been here two years." I told her she was most certainly still new to the city. I told her I've lived here 21 years, and she asked when it started to get easier. I told her it was about five years in before it really started to feel like home. Then I asked her if she'd found a church home yet. She said she prioritized getting a job and getting settled into that. She said she was considering First Corinthian Baptist Church, and I asked if I could pray with her about that. She agreed, and I ended up praying the Gospel over her, that the blood Jesus shed for her would cover everything that had come between her and the Lord and that she would grow deeper in her relationship with Him. Pray she receives this and walks in it.

I got to direct a Branch Group with students from the Northern New England and Western Pennsylvania Divisions of the Salvation Army. We staged a piece we hope to perform in Rio during the Olympics. We're building our team, so pray about joining us: www.RichDrama.com/Rio.

Our title slide by Ryan Livingston
On Friday night we put all of our hard work together, and you can watch the entire finale below. There's a short video highlighting the week at 5:44, and the piece my students developed through sociodrama can be seen at 47 minutes.



Now taking sign-ups for Rio Ready.

Get your tickets for 40% off!

I'll be teaching for the third time at the Christian Worldview Film Festival Guild next March, and I hope you'll join me!

Here's the montage they put together from this year's festival and guild:

From Media Talk 101 on Vimeo.

They're moving to a new venue, and they need to make the downpayment soon, which means a deep discount if you can reserve your tickets now. The founder, Phillip Telfer explains...


2016 Announcement! from Media Talk 101 on Vimeo.

The Guild and Festival have been an incredible opportunity to network with Christian filmmakers and catch the vision for what the Lord is doing in this powerful and impactful medium.

Hope to see you there!



Now taking sign-ups for Rio Ready.

Distracted Prayer

I got to coach the actors in this student film for the Rocky Mountain Christian Filmmakers Camp. What a thrill to be a part of John Fornof's first foray into film acting! He's an incredibly accomplished audio drama director, and he "paid" for his acting lessons and coaching by providing a voice acting workshop and coaching each actor for the voice over work on "The Dinner."

Click the video below, or if you received this via email visit www.RichDrama.com/DistractedPrayer.



A note from 2017: Rebekah Stought was the film student who directed John in this production, and this year John directed Rebekah in "The Giant Killer" in Lamplighter Theatre's professional production.

Sign up for the announcement that registration is open for the next Rocky Mountain Christian Filmmakers Camp.

Junior High Friend Leads Northwest Quakers

My best friend from seventh grade through college was Ken Redford. During the awkward years of junior high I introduced him to Jesus and the Evangelical Quakers, my denomination at the time. Last week Ken was the main speaker and clerk for the Northwest Yearly Meeting of Evangelical Quakers.

The theme of the Yearly Meeting was "Holding God's Hand," based on Isaiah 30:18, 41:13: "The Lord longs to be gracious to you... For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, 'Do not fear; I will help you.'"

Here are his talks:
Relax, Would Ya? (Ken's introduction is at 48 minutes, and his mention of my witness is at 54 minutes).

God is Generous...And It's Not So Fair! (Let my friend from college and Twin Rocks Friends Camp, Melissa Bullock, lead you in worship starting at 17:30. Ken's talk begins at 53:40).
Burned Lips and Bended Knees (The opening has no sound, but that comes in at 12:50, and Ken's talk begins at 1:03:00).

His closing sermon is the best I've heard on the Holiness and wrath of God.

I've never been more proud of a friend, a Friend or my younger self! It really spoke to me of the importance of our decisions at every stage of life. Ken's been pastoring a church in Meridian Idaho since graduating from Fuller Theological Seminary (since I chose Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary--because I didn't think I could stand living in a city--we've been watching each other's ministries from afar), so this wasn't a new revelation to me, but the fact that the Yearly Meeting (the Quaker regional division and authority) chose him for such key posts really made me wonder how the world might be different if I'd been too timid to share my faith as a junior high schooler.

We'll be partnering in ministry on August 16, when I perform The Revelation in his church. I'm really looking forward to that!

Choose to Be Faithful

Joyce Swingle
My bride boldly taught against adultery in our series on the Ten Commandments: God's Own Choices for his Beloved, from Exodus 20:14, using the illustration of Joseph, who fled from the advances of Potiphar's wife, from Genesis 37 and 39. Opening prayer by Sandy R. I shared a spiritual insight into overcoming addiction.



This service is available for download free on iTunes, where you can also subscribe to our podcast. Search for "Westchester Chapel" on the iTunes Store.

If you've been blessed by the ministry of Westchester Chapel we'd be blessed by any contribution, which could help us continue our work for the Lord.

Other Options


Photo courtesy of Peter Berberian.

Now taking sign-ups for Rio Ready.

Choose the Path of Grace

This morning Joyce taught on Exodus 20:13, Matthew 5:21-22a, Matthew 26:57-68, the second sermon on "Do not murder." Pastor Randy Solomon did part one: "Don't Destroy God's Masterpiece." This week, Pastor Randy shared the announcements and prayed over the sermon. I opened with a quote from an interview with one of my seminary professors, Dr. Richard Lovelace: "Christians may currently be partially disarmed or unarmed for Christian warfare, but if they tensed up the society would feel the brunt of this.” Here's a link to the Rich's post about the interview and there you'll find a link to the whole interview: An Interview with Author Richard F. Lovelace on Revival.



This service is available for download free on iTunes, where you can also subscribe to our podcast. Search for "Westchester Chapel" on the iTunes Store.

Photo courtesy of NicolettiPhoto.com.

Last week Rich spoke about the 60,000 gathered for the Louis Palau event praying over NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, led by Gabriel Salguiero, a pastor on our District.



Today's #TBT. We're still rejoicing over the many victories we've seen in Central Park. One of those victories was the...

Posted by NY CityServe & CityFest on Thursday, July 16, 2015


Now taking sign-ups for Rio Ready.

The Dinner

I got to coach the actors in this student film for the Rocky Mountain Christian Filmmakers Camp. 

Click the video below, or if you received this via email visit www.RichDrama.com/TheDinner.



Sign up for the announcement that registration is open for the next Rocky Mountain Christian Filmmakers Camp.

Performed in Northern Ireland

I got to celebrate Independence Day in Northern Ireland with high school friends, David N Tricia Howell. It was significantly cheaper for me to fly into Dublin than London for The Dragon and the Raven, so I planned an extra night in Ireland, hoping to connect with the Howells, who minister an hour south of Dublin. They told me they'd be at Summer Madness, 2.5 hours north of Dublin. I asked if they might like to use one of my dramas. They weren't a part of leadership but encouraged me to contact them. I sent an email to info@WhateverTheWebsiteSaid.UK.Co, and I was shocked when the founding director of the 28-year-old festival sent a note the very next day asking me to pitch ideas. I went ahead and booked a rental car in case it worked out. I praise the Lord that it didn't since I arrived after that program began! I was waiting to let the Howells know I'd be there until I knew for sure whether or not I'd be performing. They didn't get internet access, and Facebook was the only point of contact I had for them. So after hearing a phenomenal teaching and worshipping the Lord with 2,000 young people I started looking for my friends in the dark tent. Just when I gave up and was walking to the stage to ask about using their mic there was Dave! What a happy reunion! I was actually quite astonished at how many there celebrated with us independence from their rule! Great fun! They have friends who use American terms like trash instead of rubbish on the Fourth. smile emoticon
I also got to perform Sean Gaffney's "Lazarus" for the 30+ youth the Howells had helped bring up from Ireland. That was significant since this month marks 20 years in which I've made my income exclusively from the performing arts and applied theatre, and that was kicked off when Sean asked if I'd drive with him from NYC to Seattle for him to start work as managing director of Traproot Theatre. Sean and his wife, Catherine Pleis Gaffney were in London while I was, so it was a bummer our schedules couldn't coincide, but it was delightful when one of my colleagues in The Dragon and the Raven asked if my last name was Swingle. He was on his way to tea with Sean and Cath!

Hear my report on these stories and more here. 


Three of our five short films from the Rocky Mountain Christian Filmmakers Camp are now online. Sign up to receive notification when we're ready to take registrations for 2016. Now taking sign-ups for Rio Ready.

Don't Destroy God's Masterpiece

During this service, Joyce gave a report on Luis Palau events, and I gave a report on my trip to London to record The Dragon and the Raven. Pastor Randy Solomon preaches on Exodus 20:13, Matthew 5:21-24 and Psalm 139:13-16. Opening by Pastor Jim Warren. Pastor Randy mentions Appointments with Heaven by Reggie Anderson.



Russia-Moscow-Cathedral of Christ the Saviour-6
Pastor Randy mentions the story of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow. The team of performing artists we took to Sochi during the 2014 Olympics toured that cathedral!

This service is available for download free on iTunes, where you can also subscribe to our podcast. Search for "Westchester Chapel" on the iTunes Store.

Photo courtesy of NicolettiPhoto.com.
 

The Dragon and the Raven



with John Rhys-Davies
of The Lord of the Rings and
Beyond the Mask
I played Theodore the Monk, three other featured roles and numerous Danes and Saxons on Group Day in the "audio movie" The Dragon and the Raven, based on G.A. Henty's book of the same title. We recorded it in London, England!

You can order your copy now. Joyce and I were really pleased at how it all came together! 

Heirloom Audio produces world-class radio dramas, recording in London and LA. Their flagship program is The Extraordinary Adventures of G.A. Henty.

I got to work with John Rhys-Davies (The Lord of the Rings). I brought him a poster from Beyond the Mask, in which he plays the villain, Charles Kemp. I played Dr. Bonneville in the film, and I told JRD (as he was affectionately known in the studio) that I apologized for patching up that infamous scoundrel William Reynolds (the hero of the film). JRD scowled at me for a full beat before bellowing, "I should have had him poisoned!" It was great fun to play with him in that moment, and he brought great fun and creativity into the booth as well, playing the father of Helen George's character.

On Group Day there were five to ten of us portraying massive armies on both sides of the battle. At one point Helen came into the booth and we ceased our grunting and bellowing to welcome her. She was gracious and kind and told me behind the scenes stories from Call the Midwife in which she plays Trixie. She said the opening episode of season one--in which a baby comes back from the dead--is based on a true story.

with John Bell of The Hobbit
John Bell, who helped slay the dragon in The Hobbit, helped The Dragon set sail in this adventure. The dragon, in this story, is a ship and a symbol of a nation which has lost its faith, like a dragon with no fire. I wasn't the only foreigner performing an English accent amongst Englishmen. John came down from Scotland.

with Brian Deacon, who played
Jesus in The Jesus Film
Brian Deacon (Jesus of The Jesus Film) and I played brothers. I was able to tell him that our denomination, The Church of the Nazarene, has tripled in size since we started partnering with The Jesus Film in the mid-90s. I also mentioned that I went to seminary with people who were there because of The Jesus Film. He was curious about my seminary training, so I was able to tell him how the Lord clarified my calling while I was at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary: I was to minister through the performing arts, not as a pastor. "And now here I am playing a monk." 

We were directed by John Fornof, who recently taught at The Rocky Mountain Christian Filmmakers Camp with me. He also wrote the script, and he's won two Emmy Awards for that skill.

Crowd Day
Synopsis for The Dragon and The Raven
It's the 9th century. The Danes have invaded--and are taking over England. One by one, each kingdom falls. The Danes destroy entire villages, level monasteries and churches, and massacre men, women and children. 


Only one kingdom is left—a small sliver of southwestern England known as Wessex. And only one king stands against them.  His name is King Alfred.  And he’s 22 years old.  

It's all about making the story come alive in the imagination with the best actors, movie-quality sound design, and a custom music score.  

The final product is a retail CD, with future plans to launch as a radio drama.

Past cast members include Sean Astin (The Lord of the Rings, Mom's Night Out), Kirk Cameron (Fireproof), Skandar Keyens (Narnia), Billy Boyd (The Lord of the Rings), and Joanne Froggatt (Downton Abbey). 


My scenes begin at:
Disc 1, 13:00 - Theodore the Abbott with Brian Deacon as Eldred
Disc 1, 30:00 - Theodore the Abbott
Disc 2, 13:00 - The Saxon who yells, "Look out!" before being shot by an arrow
Disc 2, 28:40 - The Last Villager Alive
Disc 2, 40:00 - Olaf

I also got to perform in all of the crowd scenes as Saxons and Danes, including the songs.

Here's a video from their most recent production:





Here's their audio trailer:


And a sneak peak (er listen) to the soundtrack: 



Heirloom Audio was nominated for ten Voice Arts Awards and won four of them for In Freedom's Cause.


See more photos from London,
Ireland and Northern Ireland,
as well as extra Behind the Scenes
shots here.
This month (July) marks 20 years of working full-time in the performing arts and applied theatre. This recording adventure was an amazing way to celebrate!

While on a tour of the Pacific Northwest (Instagram and Facebook: #NWTour15) I recorded myself talking about the fantastic experience of working on The Dragon and the Raven and spending time in London:



Here's a recording of our church praying over me before the journey:




Hear about many of the Divine Appointments the Lord set up while I was in London here.






You can direct people to this page via www.RichDrama.com/TheDragonAndTheRaven.