In the nave of Christ Church Episcopal in Norcross, black stage drapes extend across the altar rail, transforming the worship space into a theater for an audience of 200. Beneath the wooden cross, keyboards set the stage for an original musical that connects the songs of social unrest to the divides of today.

For over 15 years, the Christ Church Players have used theatre to extend the church’s welcome to the wider community. Its motto merges Shakespeare with Episcopal hospitality: “All the world’s a stage, and all are welcome.”

Their latest original play, Summer of Love, will be performed Friday and Saturday, and tickets are free. The show addresses the division of today’s social media-driven world by looking back at the 1960s and 1970s. Written by director Glen Gordon alongside fellow church members Brook Sizemore and Johann Chancey, Summer of Love unfolds around two central characters known as the Modern Realist and the Cosmic Companion.

Finding Hope Across Decades

Overwhelmed by constant phone alerts, news updates, and polarization, the Modern Realist shouts into the universe for help. The Cosmic Companion appears, leading a journey through counterculture history.

Songs like “Turn, Turn, Turn,” “Get Together,” “Lean on Me,” and “Day by Day” speak to today’s struggles. Summer of Love reminds audiences that past generations did not create art just for entertainment, but to build hope and strength during tough times.

“People didn’t write songs back then just because they sounded good,” Gordon said. “People wrote songs because it gave the people who listened to them energy. We did have trauma back then… and this is how we coped. This is how we came together.”

Alongside protest signs and period artwork, the play incorporates a scene echoing the storytelling style of Godspell. The cast acts out Jesus’s Parable of the Sower from Matthew 13:

“A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path… Some fell on rocky places… Other seed fell among thorns… Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

At Christ Church, theater outreach operates like that, scattering seeds of connection without knowing where they will take root, Gordon noted.

Legacy of Connection

From annual staples like A Christmas Carol to 1920s speakeasy comedy and 1940s Broadway revue, Christ Church Players craft original stories tailored to parish talents. Producer and assistant director costumer Ella Rich, who handles production logistics, sees the stage as a bridge of parish fellowship.

“It gives me the chance to interact with people who are not in my immediate church circle,” she said. “Whatever effort people rally around in a church… you come together as a family. It builds trust.”

Summer of Love brings together nearly 40 parishioners and neighbors ranging in age from six to 90—including cast members, a live band, ushers, and those working behind the scenes.

Admission is free, with donations going to support Neighborhood Cooperative Ministries.

By turning the nave into a storytelling space, Christ Church lives into its commitment to live, love, and serve boldly together in the name of Jesus Christ. The production reflects both the parish belief that God loves everyone without exception and the broader mission of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta to challenge ourselves and the world to love like Jesus as we worship joyfully, serve compassionately, and grow spiritually.