Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Check out our activities starting in January...

Changing Character Weaknesses and Defects into Godly Character Strengths
Tuesday Evenings @ 7:00 PM

New classes Beginning THURSDAY, JANUARY 15 from 7:00-9:00 P.M. 
248-823-5095

Other Ministries:
Curiosity Corner (Nursery - Kindergarten)
Adventure Land (1st - 5th Grade)
Pillar of Stones (6th - 12th+)

Check out the new series starting Jan 4th

New 7-part series beginning January 4, 2009 in our 11:00 AM service “Conquering Worry and Finding God in Your Circumstances”

You will discover:
  • Where worry comes from
  • Why it is so difficult to overcome
  • How to conquer worry
  • How to find God in your circumstances
  • How to find God in your “where is God?” moments

Thank you for joining us at our performance...

Thank you for joining us at our performance of Rachel's Reward and visiting our church.

Hopefully, we provided you with a new perpective on the Christmas story that you had never witnessed before. 

If you haven't already done so, please take some time to look at the discussion guides, the message series "If I am a Good Person..."  and the additional information on what it means to be "Rachel's Reward" available on www.rachelsreward.com .  Also we are looking for your story on how Rachel's Reward effected you, please share with us by sending an email to info@rachelsreward.com.  We know that 10 people became followers of Christ on Sunday as a result of witnessing this story and we would like to pray for you if you also accepted Christ's free gift.

Please continue to check out www.Stonehavenfmc.org for future special events or subscribe to our newsletter at www.stonehavenfmc.org/email.htm   One of the events we are planning is a DVD release of Rachel's Reward and a sequel to Rachel's Reward to be performed sometime in 2009.

If you have any questions, please give us a call at 248-649-1465. We look forward to seeing you again!

May the blessings of this Christmas Season
Be with you and yours everyday of the year.
May the love of our Lord light your light
And bring you peace, love, and good cheer.

Wishing you a Blessed Christmas!

Sincerely,
Stone Haven Free Methodist Church

Please note: Any stories submitted may be edited for clarity or brevity; not all stories submitted will appear in the Stories section of Rachelsreward.com. Any submissions may be used by Stone Haven Free Methodist church in any and all mediums.

To find out about this weekend's service or what's happening around Stone Haven Free Methodist Church,  visit: www.stonehavenfmc.org.   
Stone Haven Free Methodist Church is located at 1349 W. Wattles Rd., Troy MI 48098.
If you have questions about Stone Haven, you can e-mail office@stonehavenfmc.org or call (248)649-1465.   Thank you.

It is Finished!

The performance is done, the set is back in a closet, the church is clean and Rachel's Reward is becoming a memory.  The perfomances went great, we had many visitors and many many volunteers.  Here are the attendance totals: Friday 164, Saturday 161 and Sunday 207  WOW!  If if that sounds great, we had 10 people become followers of Christ on Sunday, Awsome!!!


Thursday, December 11, 2008

We are on the Troy City Website


"Rachel's Reward" - Presented by Stone Haven Free Methodist Church
Location: Stone Haven Free Methodist Church - 1349 W Wattles Rd
December 12, 2008: 8:00 PM
Holiday play gives new slant to the Christmas story - Stone Haven Free Methodist church (1349 W Wattles Rd, Troy) is the site for, Rachel's Reward, this holiday season. Come see the story of four ordinary friends caught up in extraordinary circumstances. Performances are Fri Dec 12 @ 8pm, Sat Dec 13 @ 7pm, and Sun Dec 14 @ 10:30am. Get your free tickets (limited seating) at www.rachelsreward.com or call 248-649-1465 for more information. Casual attire. Quality child care provided.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

2 days to go...How many hours is that?

48 hours until the curtain opens!!! WOW! There is so much work to be done! but a lot has already been done. We have over 400 tickets sold, completed 3 walk-throughs and 2 complete dress rehearsals. We filmed 1 dress rehearsal for 7 1/2 hours on Sunday and have about 4 hours of film. We have volunteers everywhere, cast and crew, set and props (100's of hours over the last week), childcare (18 people), food for 90 meals, 500 cookies planned plus drinks, cleaning crew, traffic, security, ushers, ticket takers, will call crew, ticket order's, ticket printers, flyer printers and last and most important Prayer warriors. Well what still needs to be done then: signage at the street, lights on the building, cleaning, programs, ticket printing, rehearsals, food, cookies, childcare, stage lighting, band practice, multi-media, so a bunch.

Keep on the lookout as you will see info about the show popping up everywhere. Keep checking back for more.

We are in CandG News....








Troy Times, Sterling Heights Sentry, Rochester Post, Southfield Sun, Advertiser Times & West Bloomfield Beacon

Friday through Sunday, Dec. 12-14
Stone Haven Free Methodist Church, located at 1349 W. Wattles Road in Troy, will present "Rachel's Reward," the tale of four ordinary friends caught in extraordinary circumstances, on Dec. 12 at 8 p.m., on Dec. 13 at 7 p.m., and on Dec. 14 at 10:30 a.m. Tickets are free, but seating is limited. For tickets, visit www.rachelsreward.com. For more information, call (248) 649-1465.

We are in Great Stuff!




Tuesday, December 9, 2008

We are in the Troy-Somerset Gazette

Stone Haven’s Holiday Play Gives New Slant To The Christmas Story
STONE HAVEN FREE METHODIST church (1349 W Wattles Rd, Troy) is the site for “Rachel's Reward” this holiday season. Come see the story of four ordinary friends caught up in extraordinary circumstances. Performances are Friday, Dec. 12 at 8 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 13 at 7 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 14 at 10:30 a.m. Get your free tickets (limited seating) at www.rachelsreward.com or call 248-649-1465 for more information. Casual attire. Quality child care will be provided.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

8 Days...8 days...Oh no, I had better start memorising my lines

We are getting down to the wire now. We have been building an extension to the stage, painting the set, creating a more realistic palm tree, assembling the set and adding in the NEW panels. We are not done yet, we still have the shopkeepers building to finish, carpet the stage addition, modify the stable and do lots of touch ups.

Speaking of memorising lines, we had our first ensomble cast run through on Sunday and I must say the tweaks that have been made to the script from last year a paying off big time. The street scenes are much more interesting and alive. We have rehersals on Saturday and Sunday and then Thursday just before opening night.

So you ask, all this work...How many people are coming? Our target was to sell out 3 shows of 200 each. We are very close to 50% of our goal with most of the advertising hiting the streets this week. We had 30 tickets reserved today. So, have you gotten your tickets yet? If not better get to www.rachelsreward.com soon.

Look for our advertisments in Troy-Somerset Gazette - week of Dec 7th, Suburban Lifestyles(Troy, Rochester, Auburn Hills, Romeo, Farmington and Novi.) - next issue, C & G's newspapers all 19 (Advertiser Times * Birmingham-Bloomfield Eagle * Eastsider * Farmington Press * Fraser-Clinton Chronicle * Grosse Pointe Times * Journal * Macomb Chronicle * Madison-Park News * Rochester Post * Royal Oak Review * St. Clair Shores Sentinel * Shelby-Utica News * Southfield Sun * Sterling Heights Sentry * Troy Times * Warren Weekly * West Bloomfield Beacon * Woodward Talk) - this week and Christian Happenings - currently.

The website has been updated with some new pages, including Cast and Crew Bios and a FAQ. Also the trailer is now on YouTube.

more to come...

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

14 days to opening night...

This past Sunday was our Thanksgiving meal at the church, but included with the service we welcomed 7 into membership and had 2 adult baptisms. We had a big turn out this Sunday and beacuse of it we have seen a spike in the number of people going to http://www.rachelsreward.com/ and an additional 20 tickets were reserved.

Some of you may have heard that we are making a movie of Rachel's Reward. Last year was our first try and we basically documented the production and have used it for the actors and production crew in developing the program for this year. Well this year we are actually using the training we received earlier this year from CMNtv in troy MI. We will be filming the drama up close and personal using professional equipment loaned to us from the TV station. We did a trial on Monday and have found that this should be an intresting experience for all involved. Let just say, most people don't know what to do when there is a camera in thier face ( = lots of outakes). We will be documenting our progress for a behind the scenes video as well.

Calling all hands!!! Let the set construction begin. We have started building the extension to the stage, planed out the new scene panels, and have started painting. We will be clearing off the stage and setting up all of the scene panels on Sunday. Our goal is to be done by Friday so that we can start filming on Saturday.

Friday, November 21, 2008

22 days to opening night...

Wow 10 days slipped by in the blink of an eye... Well we sure have been busy, so lets see if you can keep up with me.

The flyers and posters are done, available at the church and are quickly getting passed out all over the place. If you can't find some let us know and we will print more.

The advertising blitz has began. We took a cast photo last Sunday for the news paper ads. Look for us in Christian Happenings, Oakland Press, Suburban Lifestyles (for Troy, Rochester, Auburn Hills, Romeo, Farminton Hills and Novi), the Detroit Free Press and the C & G news. We have also been posting the event online everywhere we can, so keep the look out.

The Action Squad has been busily planning behind the scenes - we have a team of eager flyer-handlers who are planning a massive flyer hand out to all the residents of Clawson Manor and the sub division behind the church. We have flyers located at Lukich's in Troy on Rochester Road and we will be contacting other local churches. A email went out to all of the regulars at Stone Haven for them to pass on to their contacts and we now have a tell-a-friend button on the website.

We are looking for a outdoor lighted sign for out by the road... anybody have an idea of where we can get one (free or at a reduced rate)?

Tonia talked last Sunday about the challenge and our continued need for volunteers to help with childcare, food and facilities stuff (like parking, security, cleaning). So if you are not on a list, look out we will find you! As for the challenge, I am hearing that there are many people coming but the ticket reservations don't match up, so we must have a big bunch of tickets coming soon.

Hey, check out the website, we have added several new pages and some new content.

Ok, catch your breath beacuse we are heading into the home stretch. We need everybody to get the work out ASAP and then get busy with the tasks you have signed up for.

See you on Sunday...

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

32 days to opening night...

The announcement on Sunday done by Ellen and Kathy was great! They showed everyone how easy it was to talk to a neighbor and invite them to Rachel's Reward. They then challenged each person to bring three others from the community. The person that brings the most will win a $50 gift card for a local restaurant. They also encouraged everyone to get involved and had all of those that are already signed up to help stand up (there were a lot, but not all...YET!). We also show the brand new trailer, which was well received.

Well the challenge is on, we have over 50 tickets reserved in just a few days. Awesome! We are hearing reports of people emailing friends and then they email 24 other friends. The word is getting out, lets keep it going. The fliers and posters will be available on Sunday, God willing.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

34 days to opening night...

The Trailer is now available on the website! Check it out. We will be showing it during the services for the next few weeks.

Wow another busy couple of days. We have been working on placing events in all of the local newspapers and other publications, getting a flyer ready for Sunday announcements and one for handing out to all the people we want to invite.
SO, let get inviting!

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

38 days to opening night...

We had an awesome meeting with the marketing group on Monday. Wow we have a lot of work to do. We have people working on a flyer so that the Stone Haven community can get the word out to invite friends, family, neighbors, the delivery guy, the gal in the cube next to you, the people in your clubs and so on. We also have people placing events in all of the local newspapers and other publications.

We are also working feverishly to get the website done with a video trailer. Keep checking it daily! The video is targeted for the 7th.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

41 days to opening night...

We received our shipment of Christian Happenings today and our ad is on page 13. So with that we are officially behind on the rest of the marketing and the website. Well we will be working on that tonight and tomorrow.

We are also reaching our to everyone in the church community for volunteers to do everything from setup and cleanup to childcare and video production crew. If you are interested in helping please contact info@rachelsreward.com and we will get in touch.

Welcome to Rachel's Reward

Welcome to Troy, Michigan—the home of Stone Haven Free Methodist Church and the Rachel's Reward production. Our performances are scheduled for Dec 12, 13 and 14 and you can get tickets at http://www.itickets.com/. We are telling the story of the Jesus Christ's birth and death from the unique perspective of those that witnessed the events. And we’re here to bring you a unique perspective of what’s going on behind the scenes. With photos, stories, and reports, we will keep you updated with news straight from the set. Thanks for joining us on this new adventure that we like to call the Rachel's Reward BLOG!