Inside Story
A Castle Christmas
A trip back in time to tell the old, old story.
by Rebecca K. Grosenbach
If you lived in a castle, how would you celebrate Christmas? You would buy the biggest Christmas tree on the lot. And you’d have plenty of room for company. And for Christians, whether in a cottage or a castle, the focus would be on Christ.
That’s the thinking of the staff at Glen Eyrie, the camp and conference
center “home” of The Navigators in Colorado Springs. At the heart of
the Glen is a stately castle originally constructed by city founder
General William Palmer. The Navigators purchased the property in 1953,
and it has been the ministry’s worldwide headquarters ever since. For
the past 18 years, The Glen has celebrated Christmas in a castle kind
of way, hosting a Renaissance-themed dinner theater simply called The
Madrigal.The program is framed around a gourmet, five-course dinner prepared by the Glen Eyrie kitchens. Between courses, richly costumed musicians entertain and storytellers recount the Christmas story.
The Madrigal was the brainchild of Dave McIntosh, a former Navigator area representative who performed in madrigal banquets in college. In the late ’80s, Dave relocated to Colorado Springs and, after attending an alumni event at his college, was reminded how much fun madrigal dinners can be. It also occurred to him that Glen Eyrie would provide the perfect venue.
So Dave and some friends—including Sharon Sutton, a fellow actor and superb costume designer—presented a plan to the Glen Eyrie staff. That first year they performed twice—once for Navigator staff and once for the public. Nearly two decades later, Sharon and Dave are still the driving forces of The Madrigal.
Dave says that from the beginning The Madrigal has had three purposes. “The first goal was to celebrate Christmas in a God-honoring way, in a way most people had never experienced,” he explains. “Next, we wanted to open up Glen Eyrie for a public event, to allow the community to share this ‘jewel’ in the crown of local history. Then the third thing was to produce income. The money we made was earmarked for the ongoing restoration of the castle.”
Today, the cast and crew present 14 performances during the weekends between Thanksgiving and Christmas, with 160 people attending each night. About 120 people—from dishwashers to coat checkers to performers—work together to present the show. The complete list of volunteers is close to 300 every year.
“The truth is, we just couldn’t do it without volunteers,” says Mike McNamee, the Glen’s program director who has played “the Lord of the Castle” with his wife, Becky, as “the Lady.”
While The Madrigal is perhaps the most elaborate event on Glen Eyrie’s calendar, it is just one of many every year. In 2007, the Glen will host some 75 conferences.
Glen Eyrie is known primarily for spiritually enriching conferences, Marriage GetAway weekends, and pastor’s retreats. “This year we believe the Lord is asking us to do something new,” Mike says. “We’ve talked to Christian counselors and ministry leaders to gain a better understanding of topics we should address. We believe God is asking us to meet the body of Christ where they have their deepest needs. This year’s topics include spiritual warfare, depression, sexual sin, eating disorders, and single parenting.
“We want to be known as a place where people come and see God change their lives,” Mike says. “We pray for all the guests before they ever arrive. Just recently, we held a marriage seminar addressing sexual sin in marriage. The wife of one couple called a few days before the conference and said, ‘I’m coming because someone paid my way to come, but I don’t really want to be there.’ Then, just before she left the retreat, she told a member of the Glen Eyrie program team, ‘My husband accepted Christ while he was here and now everything has changed.’
“You can’t measure that,” Mike adds. “God constantly reminds me of why we do this. That’s what we want to be known for.”
To learn more about Glen Eyrie history and events, visit www.gleneyrie.org.
