Was “Cinderella, The Bride of Christ” stolen?

 by K.J. Sharpe (aka - Kim L. Jennings)

September 1997, the play, "Cinderella, The Bride of Christ" was written by Kim L. Jennings who, at the time, was a very committed member of New Life Ministries International (NLMI) where she volunteered a great deal of her time and talents to many areas of the ministry including dance and drama (her personal passions).  

On Sunday, December 15, 2013, Ms. Jennings happened to pick up  a Chester Spirit newspaper while waiting for a salad at McDonald's.  On the front page was a story about her play that was being produced by NLMI.  To add insult to injury, she further read a quote from Pastor Joy Scott claiming to be the author of this play.  

Neither the title, the original main characters, or the storyline had been changed.  Ironically, Joy Scott played the teenage character of "Beloved" in the original work done by Miss Jennings (aka - KJ Sharpe). Ms. Jennings' daughter, Jelani Powell who was five at the time of the original production, played "Beloved" as a child. 

Ms. Jennings was the original writer, director, and choreographer for the play.  She had gone so  far as to write to and receive permission from Walt Disney to use the name Cinderella, explaining to them the premise of  the play and the story line. (Cause that's what you do when you are going to use something someone else created.) She worked with the production manager of the Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia to acquire costumes, props, and help  with lighting. Her former husband, Robert Atkins, worked with a crew of other men to build a new stage (which later got torn down). 

The play never came off for NLMI because Ms. Jennings refused to conform by letting someone else put their name on her work. Before she left the church, she had boxed up her possessions but was never allowed to retrieve them, including parts of the script and correspondence she had written. 

Pastors and plagiarism.  How much of this is going on in churches?  How many churches in this city have a history of using people's time and talents and then spitting them out when they refuse to conform to the image of the pastor?  How many people are worshipping preachers and not the God that the preacher is supposed to be pointing them to?

Click HERE for for the Chester Spirit article