Christian vaudeville comes to Saint Vincent de Paul School

Friday, Sep. 25, 2015

APeX Ministries is two Catholic men, Brad Farmer and Gene Monterastelli, who have made it their lives’ work since 1996 to travel across North America sharing the truth and joy of the Gospel. They have crafted a unique style, which they call “Christian vaudeville,” that engages an audience and creates rapport by telling “parables” through sketch comedy, seamlessly integrating the use of juggling and street performer style skill and intensity. 

Once an audience is thoroughly engaged, Farmer and Monterastelli share personal testimony of spiritual realities and take them deeper in exploring the Catholic themes of their parables. The two men then challenge the audience to put the concepts into practice in everyday life.

Saint Vincent de Paul Parish and School recently experienced APeX Ministries firsthand. The theme for the workshops was “Stewardship: How do we use the gifts that God has given us to take care of each other and our world?” 

Each year, the St. Vincent School Board Faith Formation Committee organizes a family event, and this year they brought APeX Ministries to the school. For two days, workshops and retreats were set up for students, faculty and parents. 

The first part was a half-day retreat that engaged the middle-school students. As the students entered the room, Farmer and Monterastelli were juggling. They then called on stage 15 students to act out parts of an original fairy tale. Afterward, Farmer read from the Gospel of John, chapter 21: “God says feed my sheep,” and helped the students realize that the story they had just acted out had the same message – that God wants them to help take care of people and to serve the Lord.   

On Friday, the whole school attended an assembly that used the Christian vaudeville to emphasize stewardship. The staff also had a retreat with APeX. Lastly, parish and school families were invited for a night of fun.  More than 100 people learned about the gifts God gives and how best to use them to take care of each other.

Zoe Murphy, a 6th grade student, loved the middle school retreat so much that she cancelled her soccer practice on Friday night to attend again with her mother. “It was funny how APeX tied the heroes in the story to saints,” she said.

Her friend, Piper Chenoweth concurred, saying,  “It was a good experience and a fun way to learn about our gifts and giving back.”