Last evening was ridiculously cold, thanks to the bitter wind prowling the streets of Bowmanville. I wondered what would happen to the annual production of the Nativity at St. Paul's. This year, for the first time, it was presented indoors but the audience had to get to the church sanctuary. Would people just stay home?
Blissfully, I had no responsibility in this drama, so I stood at the top of the entrance stairs and greeted people as they arrived. We did a Canadian winter version of "the Lord be with you, and also with you" as they pushed through the door. It was "brrrr, that wind is something" and I replied "ya, it's a cold one."
At curtain time (there was actually no curtain) about 125 people were in the pews and anticipating a very different telling of the story from the outdoor living nativity, yet with enough intersection to make it familiar.
It went extremely well and I give full credit to the two couples who organized, re-wrote, and directed the play. I was deeply moved by who was in the cast of two dozen. There were plenty of children who performed their roles with great dignity. Two "tweens," Amy and Kathryn were splendid as an angel and Mary. There were also many adults, from their thirties to their sixties who put in hours of rehearsal time in a busy season. My wife, Ruth, was a cast member and she assured me that spending the time getting to know these children was worth the effort, and that her two on-stage offspring were "sweeties."
To my way of thinking this was the best of churchiness, old-fashioned and modern at the same time, telling a story of God's love in Christ that needs to be told. I am so grateful that it happened once again, and that it really was a "living" nativity.
1 comment:
The cold has cancelled events here as well. We are experiencing 30 and sometimes forty below temperatures. I has been a long stretch of cold weather without relief. It looks like some relief is coming this week.
It has left many at home though. Buses did not run, which left some kids home (it was a good thing it was the week before Christmas break as the atmosphere was very relaxed), the Lutheran church cancelled their candlelight service, and the heater at the Catholic church broke down which changed some events. Among all these cancellations though, I find that most people still push on through the snow and cold.
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