Audio clip
Genevieve DeHoog
At various times, septuagenarian Genevieve DeHoog transforms herself into a pregnant teenager, a 19th-century hymnist or a young woman rid of demons.
A retired pastor who still serves part-time as minister of congregational care at Brainerd United Methodist Church, she portrays seven women in a spare-time acting avocation she once thought she had to give up when she went into the ministry.
“I thank the Lord that he gave me a way to do ministry and drama at the same time,” said the Rev. DeHoog, 72.
Before entering Christian education in 1976, she said, she did a lot of theater and was in a semiprofessional group.
Several years later, when Mrs. DeHoog was asked to fill in and teach a class on women in the Bible at her church, she asked if she instead could do a first-person monologue. Her monologue proved popular, and she began adding characters.
Today, she shares her portrayals in costume, and most with song. Her appearances last 15 to 30 minutes. She does not charge for her performances but has accepted freewill gifts.
Mrs. DeHoog’s favorites are her monologues of Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jesus.
“When I do them I cry,” she said, “and so does most everyone else.”
Clint Cooper is the faith editor and a staff writer for the Times Free Press Life section. He also has been an assistant sports editor and Metro staff writer for the newspaper. Prior to the merger between the Chattanooga Free Press and Chattanooga Times in 1999, he was sports news editor for the Chattanooga Free Press, where he was in charge of the day-to-day content of the section and the section’s design. Before becoming sports ...
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