Silent testimony: Black churches across the US combining pantomime with a Christian message

The makeup "doesn't conceal," said Morrison, who founded Annointed-N-Christ Mime Ministry. "It reveals what's on the inside."

Mime can be a path to Christ when other routes don't work, supporters say.

"People learn in different ways," mime performer Lanese Jefferson, 31, of Detroit explained while taking a break during rehearsal last month at Chapel Life.

"It may be kind of difficult for a person coming to Christ to read the Bible and understand what exactly is being said. If we can paint that picture, if we can create the same story that's written in the word, it's a beautiful thing because that's another way someone can be received."

Piccolo Robertson of Detroit, who performed at the Trayvon Martin rally, started doing mime after listening to a song by Bishop Paul Morton, a Windsor, Ontario, native whose father had a church in Detroit.

"I would listen to it every night and the Lord spoke to me. He was telling me that he wanted to save souls for the kingdom where the preachers couldn't get across to the people," said Robertson, 37. "This is a Jesus thing, not a man thing. "

Robertson and others say there are Biblical roots for mime. Citing a story in the Old Testament, they note that the prophet Ezekiel nonverbally acted out certain stories.

"That's where mime comes from," said Robertson. "Ezekiel was the first mime."

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