SUNDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2023
IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING WORSHIP

For many churches, a children’s Christmas pageant has been an annual tradition for generations. These pageants run the gamut from small Sunday school programs to Broadway-type productions with live camels and donkeys. At the heart of them all, however, is our faith in the Incarnation; that God took on human flesh and was born as a baby and came and dwelt among us.
We often think of the story around the birth of Christ as part of God’s unfolding plan — something that had been waiting to happen for a long, long time. We may need to remember, though, that the shepherds were not expecting to see angels and archangels in the field. The animals were not expecting to share their space with human beings, let alone a baby! And Mary and Joseph certainly were not expecting to have a baby out in the cold. Much of this story surprised the people and animals that were present as it unfolded. So as much as you know this story, and watch it unfold in a pageant, try to imagine it happening for the first time. Enter the spontaneity of the moment — the moment God chose to enter our world and our lives in a new and surprising way.
In this story of Jesus’ humble origins — the lowly birth in a stable, the young peasant mother, the inclusion of poor shepherds — there is the idea that we all are called to adore Christ just as we are and that we have a God who chooses to work through ordinary means with ordinary people. And God calls us to be in community to hear this Good News — that we have a God Emmanuel, or God With Us. So as the busyness of the Christmas season comes to a peak on Christmas Eve and you are wondering if a pageant is even worth the fuss and bother, remember that nothing captures the magic and mystery of that first Christmas better than a pageant, despite the bent halos, giggling shepherds, and wandering sheep. The magic moves in our hearts.
WE WOULD INVITE ALL CHILDREN, YOUTH AND ADULTS, WHO ARE INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING TO JOIN US ON SUNDAY, DECEMBER 10TH IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING WORSHIP TO HELP US PREPARE FOR OUR CHRISTMAS PAGEANT THAT WILL BE PRESENTED ON SUNDAY DECEMBER 17 DURING OUR 10AM WORSHIP SERVICE.