Artists Called to Serve (ACTS)

ACTS is a Creative Arts outreach ministry of St. Paul’s Collegiate Church.

The group--formerly known as Hands of Peace--was formed in September of 1997 through the vision and direction of Judy Buch. The ministry joined with St. Paul's in 2006 and changed their name to ACTS in 2007. ACTS stands for "Artists Called to Serve" and represents the group's commitment to the creative arts and to ministry.

Judy Buch is a professional speaker who uses ventriloquism and soft-sculpted puppet figures in her presentations. She was named ventriloquist of the year in 1996. She saw this as a gift that she could use in sharing the love of Christ and asked three teenagers to join her in the initial formation of the team.

Since the initial formation, ACTS continues to grow. We are fourteen strong, at present, with a mix of teen and adult members. Our format uses many of the creative arts including ventriloquism, puppetry skits with a variety of music, sign language, drama and interpretive drill and dance.

The mission of the team is to minister the love of Christ to each other, our faith community at St. Paul’s, and the community at large.

To that end, our team has performed in the community ministering to various church denominations, convalescent homes, Girl Scouts and for civic functions. We’ve also ministered to churches in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, Virginia, Ohio, Illinois and Iowa. ACTS has recently returned from a Mission/Outreach to Panama.

For more information about ACTS, including how you can get involved or book a performance, please email acts[at]stpaulswired[dot]org.