For Wilshire Baptist Church
We were saddened recently to learn of the passing of Austin Davenport, a former longtime Wilshire member, at age 43. We don’t know the details, but Austin had Down syndrome and that might have been a factor. More recently Austin had been a member of Highland Park United Methodist Church. He was drawn there by their Belong ministry for those with disabilities, and especially their Spotlight Musical Theater. More about that in a moment.
You may remember seeing Austin in the hallways of Wilshire, dressed impeccably and smiling broadly. Or you might have seen him in the choir loft or sitting alone on the front row in the sanctuary until he was joined by his beloved Christi, also with Down. The couple eventually married and enjoyed 12 years together through their own determination and support of their families.
In the aftermath of Austin’s passing, two things stand out for me. One is the first line in his obituary, obviously written by his remarkable family: “We grieved when he arrived in this world because we did not know better, but we grieved tenfold when he left on May 12, 2021.”
The second was in a eulogy given by Ricky Townsend, who was matched with Austin through Best Buddies, an organization that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, leadership development and inclusive living for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Ricky said this, and I paraphrase: “I met Austin through a charity, but he was not my charity. He was my best friend.”
Austin’s memorial service, which we watched on live stream, featured many of his friends from the Belong ministry and the Spotlight Musical Theater. We’ve seen most of their productions over the past few years and it was good to see them on stage again. With that in mind – and with a little license – I want to revisit something I wrote in 2014:
“What is love and where can it be found?” That was the question that the cast of the Spotlight Musical Theater wanted to explore as they began creating their annual show. And by the time they took their bows, everyone knew the answer.
The Spotlight is a theatrical troupe sponsored by Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas that stages a musical every year performed by adults with special needs. This year’s production, “Paradise Island,” was presented on a Saturday and Sunday evening and it was a rollicking good time. The players performed wonderfully, and the audience of more than five hundred applauded enthusiastically throughout.
We’ve come to know about the Spotlight through our friend, George Gagliardi, who composes and arranges the music. This year he asked LeAnn to play the flute in the show orchestra, and she was pleased to do so. The actors and writers included two Wilshire members, and I say “writers” because as George explains, these shows are not created for these adults to perform; they are created by these adults. The plot and characters are theirs, and the songs are written by them too. George, the director, and dozens of other volunteers just help shape it into a great piece of musical theatre.
The story this year was about a vacation island where tourists are told that if they can find a red feather from the mythical Bird of Paradise, they will find true love. They discover that there is no real Bird of Paradise, but through their interactions with each other as they search for the bird and survive a tropical storm, they do find true love—among family members, friends, and between guys and gals.
The story behind the story is that this program is not about adults with special needs getting the opportunity to act on the stage; it is about these adults experiencing the most wonderful part of being human – feeling the love and respect of others.
There are some good lessons, too, for any church worth the name. Nowhere in the show, on the printed program, in the pre-show introductions, or during intermission was there any evangelizing, proselytizing or pressure to join. This production and this ministry isn’t about growing a specific church or even the church in general. It is about being the church – by helping our brothers and sisters be fully involved in the human experience.
So, to answer the question posed by the Spotlight players: Love is caring for and respecting each other, and it can be found in the people of God.