Susan Schmidt Goerz

Cotton Patch Gospel
Director: Susan Schmidt Goerz

Through The Cotton Patch Version of Matthew and John (published 1968–1973), Clarence Jordan gave Americans a vivid, contemporary take on the gospel story by framing Jesus and the disciples in the vernacular of rural Georgia with all its poverty and human rights struggles. This “contemporary portrait” continues to inspire audiences through presentations of the hit Broadway musical Cotton Patch Gospel (adapted for the stage by Tom Key, Russell Treyz, and Harry Chapin), such as the one performed at Bethany College, Hepburn, Sask., Nov. 4–5.