Sunday, January 8, 2006
Cast
Narrator Olivia
Kent
Reader Samantha
Jacobson
Mary Sarah
Slater
Joseph Kyle
Rector
Prophet Jessica
Rector
Angels Alexandra
Lee
Emmaline
Veronica
Lee
Maya
Mahoney
Wisemen Sean
Bloomer
Casey
Rector
Nigel
Slater
Acolyte Leah
Mahoney
Shepherds Ryan
Bloomer
Timothy
Bloomer
Hayden
Estey
Luke
Estey
Stage
Hand Samantha
Lee
Pageant
Coordinator Linda
Lee
Assistant Caroline
Correia
The Journey to
Storyteller: (holds up cloth of blue and purple) It is now the
time for the color blue or purple.
Purple is the color of kings and queens. Blue is the color for Mother Mary,
without whom there would be no King.
Purple is a serious color.
Something serious is about to happen. A king is coming. Not the kind of king that people thought
was coming. This king had no army,
no great house, and no riches. This
king was a baby born in a barn. The
king who was coming is still coming, but that is a mystery. A mystery is hard to enter
sometimes. That is why Advent is so
important. Sometimes people can
walk right through a mystery and not even know it is there. This time of year you will see people
buying things in malls and hurrying here and there, but they will miss the
mystery. They do not know how to
get ready, or they did not take the time to get ready. The church learned a long time ago that
people need a way to get 
ready. The church set
aside four weeks to get ready.
During this time we are all on the way to
Acolyte comes forward and lights the first
candle.
Storyteller:
This is the candle of the prophets.
Watch. Pay attention.
Prophet enters and points toward
Storyteller: Prophets are the people who know the
most important things. They knew
which way to go. They are the ones
who showed us the way. Now we can
go to
HYMN:
O’ Little Town of
Mary and Joseph enter.
Acolyte lights second candle.
Storyteller: This is the candle for the Holy Family. This is Mother Mary. This is Father Joseph. Mary was about to have a baby. It is very hard to walk when you are
about to have a baby. Sometimes she
could not take another step and she rode on the donkey. Sometimes she was uncomfortable riding the
donkey and she would walk some more.
She rode and walked with Joseph at her side. Mary was proud to be the one chosen to
be the mother of the king. She sang
a special song.
Reader:
My
soul magnifies the lord
And my spirit rejoices
in God my Savior
For he has regarded
the low estate of his handmaiden
For behold henceforth
all generations will call me blessed
For he who is mighty
had done great things for me
And holy is his name.
Acolyte lights third candle.
Storyteller: This is the candle for the shepherds and
the angels. It is also a different
color from the other candles to remind us of the color of 
roses. It symbolizes
great joy and celebration and also Mother Mary.
Shepherds are walking around the outer edge and stop
midway up the aisle. They point
upward and look afraid.
Angels come down from the front and lead them
to the Holy Family.
Storyteller: The shepherds were in their fields
tending their sheep. They were
trying hard to stay awake. Suddenly
there was so much light in the sky that it hurt their eyes. They were afraid. They heard singing in the sky. It was angels singing “Don’t
be afraid.” The angels sang
about great joy and peace on earth and good will to all men. They told the shepherds to run to
Hymn:
It came Upon a Midnight Clear V.1 #89
Acolyte lights fourth candle.
Storyteller: The fourth candle represents the Magi,
the three kings from the East. They
were so wise that people thought they were magic. They knew all about the stars. They knew where all the stars were
supposed to be in the sky. But
suddenly, they saw a wild star.
They had never seen it before.
It did not stay put. It went
where it wanted to go. They decided
to follow it. They followed the
star all the way to
Kings come from back of church and join the
rest.
Hymn:
We Three Kings of Orient Are V1 #128
Storyteller: Today we are ready to enter the Mystery
of Christmas. We too will be there at
the birth of the Christ child.
Mary removes the cloth from the baby and
picks it up to show everyone.
Storyteller: Here is the Christ
Child. The Word of God was born a
wordless child. The mother Mary
gave birth to and held the baby who was the God who cared for her and for
us. This is the Mystery of
Christmas. But wait! Something is missing! I wonder what it could be? Could it be
the light of Christ is missing?
Yes, we need the Christ candle.
Acolyte lights the last candle.
Hymn: Go tell it on the Mountain V 1-3 #99
Acolyte snuffs out the candles, beginning with
the prophets, then the Holy Family, then the Shepherds, then the Magi. The Christ candle stays lit.
Storyteller: Do you see the way the smoke spreads out
from the candles? It gets thinner
and thinner until you can’t see it anymore. But you can feel the prophets, the Holy
Family, the shepherds and the angels and the Magi as they fill up the room. And anywhere you go, you can be close to
them. Look at the Light of the
Christ Child. It is here now and
always, waiting for you.
All gather around Mary and Joseph.
Hymn:
Joy to the World
V 1 & 4 #100
Cast exits during last verse of Joy to the
World.
