A Night To Die For

The lights were dimmed.  The candles lit.  The evening was brisk.  The smell of fall filled your nose.  Halloween approached.  As students were preparing for the upcoming All Hallow's Eve, a few decided to celebrate in a slightly different fashion with us, by stepping back to the year 303AD...

The women as they entered the year 303AD

As the twenty women gathered in the basement of Immaculate Conception Church, we handed them a character card, a prop, and some simple instructions--they were to discover who killed who at this Martyr Mystery Party!  It was a night to die for!  As they crossed the threshold from the hallway into the Gathering Room, the women entered into a different time--a time of Christian persecution, a time of martyrs, and a time of the Roman Empire... Stepping into character, the women gathered around the "concession stand" of a Roman arena, where the poor and rich a like would gather for gladiators and lion feastings!  Domitilla (Danielle) and Augusta (me) served the attendees drinks and snacks as we gossiped about the most recent Christian killing--Antonia, the mother of Barbara and wife to Dioscorus--killed at the hands of the state.  The women began mingling, poking around for more details, but soon enough the night became even more suspenseful, as Domitilla and myself learned that not only was Antonia dead, but so were her daughter and husband!  Roman senators, shepherds, stonemasons, servants, and the like fluttered about desperately seeking to discover the killer... or killers! 

Erin, Jill, Marina, Tara, and Catherine as Roman Senators
Breanna, Jen, and Meg as Stonemasons
They would swing by the concession stand occasionally seeking any new news from Domitilla and Augusta, knowing we were ones to spill the beans.  They peppered each other with questions and quietly said the word "Christian."  Those who played Christians had fear struck in them as some Romans began to hunt them during the course of the night.  Meanwhile, many of the Christians tried to evangelize, while sharing Barbara's testimony and story about her own conversion, which pointef to why she might have been killed...simply for being a Christian.  

Sara, Kat, and Erin deliberating about the Martyr Mystery
As more and more women discovered that Barbara was a Christian and her father Dioscorus was a Roman official and a hater of Christians, the excitement grew!  Was Dioscorus the murderer?  But he too was dead!  Did he convert?  He couldn't have!  He was a Roman through and through!  Why did Barbara convert?  I heard that the Shepherds know something about Christianity... Don't go near the prefect, he won't talk to anybody!  Someone keeps denying that Barbara was Christian, why?  

Some of the attendees come to Domitilla (Danielle) for the scoop and more gossip as the night progressed
Eventually we asked them to write down their conclusions and submit them, and we made the big reveal!  Who killed who you ask?  Well...you'll just have to go read about St. Barbara, or ask anyone of the women who took one night in October to step back into the year 303AD to when it was dangerous to be a Christian... 

Domitilla and Augusta (Danielle and me) working the concession stand



Comments

  1. KatieSOctober 12, 2017 at 12:09 PM

    Randomly googled Martyr Mystery and this post came up. Any chance you have instructions for this party that we could use to recreate?

    ReplyDelete

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