The church Christmas Pageant of 2011 was one of the best yet, as far as I was concerned. I am the organist, and usually a day ahead I am given a notebook with the script for the play. It doesn’t matter what is written there; I won’t hear the words muttered into microphones at the other end of the sanctuary, and won’t know when to play the congregational carols. This year the Sunday School superintendent played the only song the parents and doting grandparents were allowed to sing in the middle of the production. The rest was karaoke!!! The woman confided that she gets physically sick the days she has to play. She said she took one look at the accompaniments and told the director she couldn’t possibly play the pop, syncopated rhythms called for. I don’t know who ran the iPod, but they did an excellent job. The superintendent, meanwhile, was struggling. I thought that was overkill for playing “Away in the Manger”, but then I noticed she accompanied one of the teens for a solo. She did a wonderful job, as did the boy. She also helped direct from the side, singing and going through the hand motions. After I saw all she did, I understood why she was nervous.
The pastor’s wife proudly showed me the new costumes several weeks ago. I knew before she pointed to it, that the blue costume was for Mary. I think Mary has dressed in blue since the dark ages. Poor thing never has a choice, but she is always recognizable, even if played by the roughest tomboy in the group. Our sheep were a frisky lot, on two feet as often as four. I’m sure the real shepherds wouldn’t recognize their counterparts, whose costumes were a bit too designer perfect. You can usually pick out the wise men who carry pretty boxes, but at a distance I couldn’t see if they had anything in their hands. The angels were the ones who really looked spiffy, having just earned their new wings. They will look more realistic next year. The wings were useful, though, because you often can’t tell the difference between angels and choirs. One angel’s mother took no chances on the costume. Her daughter was dressed in a floor length white dress.
The only mistake was Pastor’s skipping over one choir piece. We quickly jumped in at the next available quiet spot. It wouldn’t take a wise man to know we did the right thing. At the end, the director had each set of characters take a formal bow before exiting down the center aisle of the church while the relatives clapped loudly. It was a resounding success.
