Chestermere Christian Fellowship shared some Christmas spirit with the less fortunate with their annual Christmas Nativity Pageant Dec. 8 and 9.
“We’re very happy to share…what the true meaning of Christmas is,” said Pastor Darcy Neufeld.
The church in partnership with the Mustard Seed in Calgary is busing out some of the homless people that the Mustards Seed works with for a full Christmas dinner at the church followed by the Nativity pageant.
“It’s just a special thing we can do,” he said.
This year the interest at the Mustard Seed has led to an extra van being used to bring people out.
“Every year they’ve loved coming out here,” said Church Elder George McDade, “and we love having them.”
They had over 100 people in attendance for the Dec. 9 performance.
Neufeld said that the church has been running the outdoor nativity pageant for about the last five or six years.
Run with volunteer actors and a live donkey and sheep, the pageant retells the Nativity story, the birth of Jesus Christ in the Christian tradition.
Each year the pageant provides different trials as they work to prepare it.
“It’s challenging,” said Church Elder Ed Stamler.
This year, adding to the stress and high blood pressure, the actress playing Mary came down with a cold the day before the pageant and the bulb in the spot light burnt out just over an hour before the Dec. 8 pageant started.
“So, we had to get a new Mary at 3 O’clock yesterday,” said Stamler who also had to rush into Calgary to find a replacement bulb for the spotlight.
The recasting and new bulb worked out and the show went off without any other hitch.
And despite the old maxim about never working with children or animals in theatre, they have both in the pageant.
“We had a rehearsal yesterday and the two little boys did really well…so today I wasn’t even worried I knew it would go really well,” said McDade.
Neufeld said that it speaks to the commitment of his congregation that they get the volunteers out to act and help run the pageant.
“People are committed to share…the true meaning of Christmas,” he said.
