Overview:
The Athol Orange Baptist Church will be presenting the Living Last Supper, a live dramatization of the Last Supper, on Maundy Thursday, April 2, and Good Friday, April 3. The 90-minute performance, which is free to attend, depicts the thoughts and conversations of the 12 disciples and Jesus, and concludes with a dramatic representation of Christ being nailed to the cross. The event has been held for 24 years and attracts a large crowd every year.
ATHOL – People of all faiths are welcome to experience the Athol Orange Baptist Church’s presentation of the Living Last Supper.
“In this live dramatization, the 12 (disciples) speak aloud their thoughts to each other and to the Lord in light of the words they have heard from Jesus,” an announcement for the event, which will be held on Maundy Thursday, April 2, and Good Friday, April 3 with both performances at 7:30 p.m., reads.
According to church member Stephen Raymond, this will be the 24th year the performance has been held. All of the performers are dressed in costumes representative of the period.
“We get a lot of people who do it year after year,” he said. “This year, I have two new guys. I’d say I have 8 or 10 people who do it every year.”
Raymond explained the event was started by retired U.S. Army Colonel James Blake, who had seen it when he was stationed in Pennsylvania. Much of the script, he said, has been re-written by Blake, who passed away in June 2024.
“How it works is each disciple speaks, each disciple has a part,” Raymond said. “We took them from books of the Bible, like Luke and Acts and Matthew.”
Before any words from Jesus or the disciples, said Raymond, two people first discuss the importance of Passover. The disciples speak their parts three at a time, with a musical interlude following each trio, before Jesus speaks to his followers.
The performance concludes with Christ telling Judas, “What you are about to do, do quickly,” at which point Judas leaves the scene. The 90-minute performance ends, said Raymond, with a dramatic representation of Christ being nailed to the cross.
Raymond said the church sanctuary holds about 240 people “and we’re packed every year. We may have seats in the balcony, but we get a very large crowd.”
Raymond added that the event is free and no offering will be taken at any time before or after the performance.
“We just want people to come and see this,” he said. “It’s a great event at this time of year.”