LOGOS AND BETHLEHEM

A Play In One Scene
By Father John R. Green

View Bishop John Shelby Spong's thank you Letter
View priest friend Ben's tribute letter

CAST OF CHARACTERS

Webster Stonestreet, age 45, Father

Lorraine Stonestreet, age 45, Mother

Gary Stonestreet, age 21, Son

Laura Lee Springborne, age 21, Gary's Fiancee

Alice Wingate, age 50, Director of Pageant

Rev. Dayton Belmont, age 60, Rector, St. John's Church

Rev. Adele Fairchild, age 40, Associate Priest, St. John's

Hartford Farmingdale, age 45, Professor of History, PhD

Stella Birdseye age 40, Organist, Choir Director

Martin Fells, age 21, Singing Shepherd, Pageant

Felix Winchester, age 21, Singing Shepherd, Pageant

Betty Jane Sales, age 21, Singing Angel, Pageant

Janet Jaynes, age 21, Singing Angel, Pageant

Bernice Brownfield, age 21, Singing Angel, Pageant

Scene

The spacious living room in the home of Webster and Lorraine Stonestreet.

Time

December 15, 1994, 2:00 pm

SCENE

SETTING: A couch seating three is at rear center of room flanked by three comfortable chairs on its right and left, at an angle facing frontward. A console recorder is at left rear center of room. A piano is at left center of room. A creche is at front center of room. A door exiting into other rooms in home is in right center wall of room. A door exiting from and entering home is in left center wall of room.

AT RISE: Lorraine is projecting Christmas music from the console recorder, as Webster enters room from door in right center wall of room and proceeds to meet with Lorraine in center of room

LORRAINE Alice Wingate phoned, and she will be here shortly. She wondered whether Gary was here, and she seemed very distressed.

WEBSTER (shaking his head) Directing the annual Christmas pageant and distress seem to go hand-in-hand with Alice. Why did she ask whether Gary was here?

LORRAINE (shaking her head) I don't know, but I hope he isn't responsible for her misery.

WEBSTER In what way would he be responsible for her emotional upheaval?

LORRAINE Now Webster, we know of your dislike for Christmas pageants, but please try to be helpful and comforting.

WEBSTER (shaking his head) I have raised no objection to her having the Christmas pageant.

LORRAINE No, but neither have you been encouraging on its behalf. (Ringing of doorbell or knock on door to outside of house. Lorraine leaves room to door and then smilingly ushers in Alice Wingate, and the two proceed to center of room.)

WEBSTER Well, Alice, you have splendidly directed beautiful pageants at St. John's for many years now, but each pageant seems to produce trouble for you.

ALICE (painfully) I thought everything was going well with the pageant this year up until an hour ago. (shaking her head) I wish Gary was here.

LORRAINE (wringing her hands) Oh, I was afraid of this!

ALICE (vexed) Gary wants to leave the pageant. He says that shepherds should be played by young boys, and he has been a shepherd for many years now.

WEBSTER (wondering) Why don't you have children in your pageant this year? They always seem to be in other Christmas pageants.

ALICE I want singing shepherds, and we don't have children who can sing like Gary and the other young adults performing as shepherds. I am trying to be creative.

WEBSTER (admirably) Oh, you are creative. There should be no doubt about that. Your pageants are in a class by themselves!

(Enters Gary Stonestreet from door in wall at left center of room. He stops short, startled at seeing Alice.)

LORRAINE Please come and enlighten us. Alice is troubled by your leaving the pageant.

ALICE (to Gary as he proceeds toward center of room) I wish you had been here when I arrived. I never wanted to do anything behind your back.

GARY (warmly) My dear friend, Alice, don't give this matter another thought. Your motives are always beyond reproach.

ALICE (tearfully) Thank you, Gary, but I believe there is more to your desire to leave the pageant than a matter of age.

GARY (shaking his head) Yes, Alice, much more. First, let me say that I never heard of singing shepherds. Back in the times of Christ, shepherds were held in disrepute, often having unsavory pasts. They were, however, hired to watch over sheep. (walks to and fro momentarily and then faces Alice again) But there is a deeper reason for my refraining from performing in the pageant. (pause, looks toward floor for a few moments and then resumes facing Alice) You see, I no longer believe in the Virgin Birth of Christ in a stable in Bethlehem.

(Alice and Lorraine exchange expressions of shock as Webster beams upon Gary.)

LORRAINE (to Webster) Now see what you have done!

WEBSTER (pointedly) I have never discussed the infancy narratives of Jesus with Gary, although I do see eye to eye with him over the birth in Bethlehem.

GARY Dad had nothing to do with my change of belief. I have been studying with Doctor Farmingdale at the University.

ALICE (glowing) Oh, Hartford is our lay reader at St. John's. He reads from the Bible so beautifully and with such feeling. But (to Gary) you say he is responsible for your no longer believing the Divinity of Christ.

GARY Oh, I believe in the Divinity of Christ and so does he, but we both believe that He was born in Nazareth, not in Bethlehem.

LORRAINE Hartford Farmingdale is an outstanding historian. I have had the pleasure of hearing some of his lectures and readings from his books. We are fortunate to have him at St. John's, but I am depressed to learn that he denies the Virgin Birth. (to Alice) What should we do?

GARY Why not ask him to come over and discuss the infancy stories with us?

LORRAINE By all means, Gary. Please give him a call. I want to hear his explanations directly from him.

(Gary leaves room to phone Hartford.)

ALICE (shaking her head) I don't understand how he can be a Christian and not believe in the Virgin Birth.

WEBSTER Hartford took the historian, Edward Gibbon, to task for blaming Christianity for the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. Does this sound like someone who is not a Christian?

GARY (upon returning to room) Doctor Farmingdale will be with us shortly. (walks a few paces back and forth; stops and studies face of Alice for a moment) I shall make another thing perfectly clear. Although I deny the Virgin Birth, I firmly believe Jesus to be the Son of God, and I believe in the Incarnation.

WEBSTER (happily to Gary) I can relate to that!

ALICE (throwing her arms in air) Why, oh why, don't you believe in the Virgin Birth, Gary?

GARY I had some doubts even before my studies with Doctor Farmingdale. (goes to piano and returns with a Bible) Right here (pointing toward Bible) - right here in Matthew and Luke!

ALICE But Matthew and Luke tell us that Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

GARY (opening Bible to Luke 2:7) Luke writes: "She gave birth to her first born and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the Inn." Take Note: Luke writes that Jesus was born in a manger in Bethlehem. (turns pages to Matthew 2:7) Now Matthew writes: "Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the time the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying "Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage." When they heard the king they set out; and there, ahead of them went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house they saw the child with Mary, his mother. Now again take Note: Matthew tells us He was born in a house in Bethlehem, not in the manger which Luke describes. Now Jesus could not have been born in two different places, could he? Also, Luke wrote that Jesus was circumcised on the eighth day of his life and was presented in the Temple at Jerusalem on the fortieth day, while Matthew tells us that he fled with Mary and Joseph to Egypt shortly following his birth. How do we reconcile Matthew with Luke on the birth and very early life of Jesus? We simply cannot do so.

ALICE (dazed and frustrated) Everything is possible with God! (ringing of doorbell or knock on door. Gary proceeds to outside door and returns with Professor Hartford Farmingdale, who waves a cheerful greeting to all present, as he proceeds to center of room and deposits a small briefcase on the floor) Hartford, we have always held you in such high esteem and admiration. (breathing deeply) Consequently, some of us were shocked to learn that you don't fully embrace Christianity.

HARTFORD (astounded. glances toward Gary and then Lorraine whose countenance shares the perplexity of Alice) Oh, you are dead wrong about that, Alice. At the age of twelve I had an experience at the Altar while receiving the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist which assured me beyond all doubt about Jesus; that he is the Son of God!

ALICE (vexed) But according to Gary you don't believe that He was born of a virgin in Bethlehem?

HARTFORD I believe that He was born in Nazareth where He was reared into manhood. (taking the Bible from Gary and points vigorously towards it) When do Matthew and Luke write that Jesus became the Son of God? How would you answer that, Lorraine?

LORRAINE (cautiously) At the time of His birth in Bethlehem.

HARTFORD (turning pages of Bible) And when does Mark say that Jesus became the Son of God?

LORRAINE (hesitatingly) At the time of his Baptism by John in the Jordan, I believe.

HARTFORD (reading from Mark) "In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased." (walks about room for several moments in thought and meditation, twice glancing upward) I smile as I look upward because Mark knew very little about space and saw heaven above the sky. (ceases walking and turns pages of Bible) And when does Paul teach that Jesus became the Son of God?

LORRAINE I am afraid I can't answer that.

GARY Upon our Lord's resurrection from the dead, or upon God raising Jesus from the dead.

HARTFORD (smiling broadly) Ah, yes! (reads from 1st Corinthians 15:27) "For God has put all things in subjection under his feet." (strolls about in thought for a few moments, ceases walking and faces Alice) You may by now observe that there are diverse explanations in the scriptures as to when Jesus became the Sod of God (chuckling), but we still have a classic to address.

GARY According to John, Jesus is the pre-existent Son of God before the beginning of time and the creation of the universe. He was active in all creation and without him nothing was created. (takes Bible from Hartford and opens it to read:) "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into him was life, and the light was the life of all people. And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory of a Father's only Son full of grace and truth."

WEBSTER (beaming) I can relate to that! I believe John's version of the Sonship of God.

HARTFORD (nodding affirmatively) This is what I believe. With John there is no need for the Bethlehem Birth. Of course, Mark and Paul give no account of a Virgin's Birth.

ALICE Why does John call Jesus the Word?

HARTFORD A very good question. The Word is derived from the Greek in which the New Testament was originally written. In the Greek the Word is referred to as Logos. Jesus is known as the Divine Logos, or the Divine Reason, or the Divine Word, and the Word was God.

ALICE A good explanation, but all of this still boggles my mind! Why can't religion be simple like our beautiful Christmas pageants?

HARTFORD (sympathetically) We wish our human knowledge and feelings could completely comprehend God.

GARY (chuckling) If our finite minds could comprehend the mystery and complexity of God, he wouldn't be worth a moment of our consideration. We would be like him.

WEBSTER (jocularly) Hey, Hartford, how about obtaining a fellowship for my beloved son with whom I am well pleased for his doctorate studies in history? This would ease my financial obligations considerably.

(Alice slowly strolls around room with head lowered.)

HARTFORD I don't find it all difficult to believe that Jesus was the Son of God before the creation of the universe or the beginning of time.

LORRAINE If this be true, why did Matthew and Luke write about the Virgin Birth in a manger?

HARTFORD A profound question, Lorraine. What little study I have done indicates that Matthew did so to proclaim Jesus as the Lord of the Jews, while Luke did likewise for the benefit of prospective Gentile converts first century A.D., but they are not relevant for today. Matthew and Luke are great Gospels capable of standing independent of the infancy narratives.

ALICE (ceasing strolling in center of room, as Lorraine begins to slowly stroll about room, her hands clasped over breast) But what about those prophecies in the Bible that Jesus would be born of a Virgin?

HARTFORD There is no such word as virgin in the Hebrew in which the Old Testament was originally written. Isaiah told of a young woman who would conceive a son which would be a signal to King Ahaz of God's care for the people of Israel. This prophecy had nothing to do with the Birth of Jesus to a Virgin, although it has erroneously been utilized toward this end.

ALICE (perplexed, doggedly) But what about the great star of Bethlehem - that star in the sky when Jesus was born?

HARTFORD (pointing towards sky) Two great lightings in the sky were recorded within a score of the Matthew-Luke stories of the Bethlehem birth. One was in 12 B.C. and the other in 6 A.D. The latter was Halley's Comet. Also, Alice, Quirinius did not become Governor of Syria until 7 A.D. He was not the Governor when Jesus was born, as recorded by Luke. Likewise, Roman history does not reveal any taxation by Augustus Caesar or census taking while Quirinius was Governor of Syria. And even had Caesar announced such a taxation it is highly unlikely that a census taking would have required returning to the place of birth as was required of Joseph, according to Luke. Why would Mary have traveled to Bethlehem? Women did not pay taxes. They had no worth before the law, being chattels of their husbands. What husband would have submitted a pregnant wife to such a painful and devastating journey? Would she likely have survived such a perilous trip? It seems strange that during his earthly ministry our Lord never once mentioned a miraculous birth in Bethlehem.

LORRAINE (ceasing strolling in center of room) Perhaps he saw no reason to do so.

HARTFORD He could have powerfully asserted his authority by doing so. Also, he was human and what human would keep silent about such a great birth event. I know a woman who was giving birth while a hurricane hovered in the vicinity of her home. I, alone, must have heard her tell this story one hundred times. And if there had been a Virgin Birth accompanied by angels and a great star, why did Mary consider her son sick in mind when he began his ministry, wanting to take him home? (pause) Oh, I want it known that I have a loving and profound respect for Mary. Her nurturing of Jesus and impact upon him was of a high order, and she was with him at the cross and shared in his post resurrection ministry.

LORRAINE I wish I had in my heart an answer to all of your questions, but I don't.

GARY (smiling) Well, you can't eat a square meal on a round table!

LORRAINE (softly) But I still believe in the Virgin Birth and will likely continue to do so.

ALICE (desperately) This is true for me - just like it says in the Creed!

HARTFORD It has never been my intention to discourage people from believing in the Virgin Birth. I do insist, however, that one does not have to believe in the Virgin Birth to be a true Christian, a loyal and devoted follower of Christ. It is dreadfully wrong - yes, it is unchristian to deny discipleship to those who cannot accept the Virgin Birth!

WEBSTER That's good enough for me!

GARY Excellent!

WEBSTER I am going to the kitchen to prepare some hot chocolate and fruit cake for us. (glancing around) I would suggest that it is time for all to be seated.

(Hartford, Lorraine and Alice occupy chairs to left of couch while Gary seats himself in center of couch. Door bell rings or knock comes from outside door. Lorraine leaves room and returns with the Reverend Dayton Belmont who waves a cheery greeting to those assembled and receives a cordial response from them. He is seated on couch to the left of Gary.)

ALICE (to Dayton) We are glad that you are here for the rehearsal but would it be outrageous of me to ask whether you believe in the Virgin Birth? (laughing lightly) We have been having a momentous discussion about this subject.

DAYTON (jovially) I am frequently asked this question, Alice. I do believe in the Virgin Birth.

ALICE (beaming) You make me so happy, but do you believe you can be a good Christian without believing in the Virgin Birth?

DAYTON (smiling broadly) Oh, yes, Alice. There are some fine, dedicated Christians who don't believe in the Virgin Birth. (pause) I should add that this is not a subject to which I have given considerable thought or study, but I am content with my conviction.

HARTFORD (to Dayton) Your splendid associate, the Reverend Adele Fairchild, has openly stated that she doesn't believe in the Virgin Birth. I hear that some parishioners are urging you to discontinue her ministry at St. John's.

DAYTON (grimly, emphatically) In no way am I going to relieve Adele of her post at St. John's. Her service to the parish is invaluable, and she has ministered beyond the parish to the entire community - indeed, to the entire world!

LORRAINE (nodding her head affirmatively) Good! Very good! She is a gem and one of the best things that has happened at St. John's.

GARY I understand that some are very unhappy with her work in behalf of racial and economic justice in the community and want her to leave St. John's.

DAYTON (chuckling) Oh, yes, frustrated by my refusal to dismiss her over her Virgin Birth stance, they turned toward her humanitarian work in the community. They refuse to accept Christianity for what it really is.

HARTFORD (laughing mildly) They probably would prefer not to see my smiling countenance around and about St. John's.

DAYTON (beaming warmly upon Hartford) I wish every communicant and professing Christian at St. John's would be taking his or her religion as seriously and with the wholehearted dedication that characterizes Hartford Farmingdale. Your services as Lay Reader, adult Christian Education leader and organizer of St. John's members to address the needs of the world and society are of a high order - indeed, they are indispensable.

LORRAINE (clapping her hands emphatically) This is exactly the way I feel about Hartford!

GARY Doctor Farmingdale has been my guide to a richer and fuller life in the church.

DAYTON (rising from his seat) I am appalled at the ignorance displayed by countless professing Christians toward the Bible. It cannot be repeated too often that the Bible is the revealed Word of God. It is not the literal Word of God. We do not worship the Bible; we worship Christ! There remains an overwhelming need for the Bible to be studied to seek its truth as we see evidenced in the consecration of Hartford and Adele and other learned and devoted followers of our Lord. Never be weary of the cliche which reminds us that some of yesterday's heresies have become today's truths, and that today's heresies may prove to be tomorrow's truth. Our Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion to which we belong emphasize Faith, Reason and Tradition. We treasure an abiding faith in the love and mercy as manifested in our resurrected Son of God. We cherish reason in keeping with our Lord's commandment to love God with all our mind in the pursuit of Godly truth and we honor tradition which assures us of the validity of our witness to Christ. Our fellow denominational churches as seen in the Presbyterian, Lutheran, Methodist, Baptist, Disciples of Christ, Evangelicals, etc., likewise have anchors which richly serve the cause of Christ. (Jovially toward Webster who is returning with hot chocolate and fruit cake) And now this guy named Dayton Belmont, who is paid to utter certain sounds, will gladly yield to the pause which is sure to refresh us. (Seats himself as Webster proceeds to serve all with refreshments.)

(Door bell rings or knock on outside door. Gary leaves room and returns with his fiancee, Laura Lee Springborne, who is gaily saluted by those present and seated to the right of Gary on couch. After serving her with hot chocolate and cake, Webster seats himself on first chair right of couch.)

ALICE (to Laura Lee) How thrilling and wonderful your engagement to Gary! I am all ready rehearsing the wedding music.

LAURA LEE Oh, thank you, Alice. You will be a central figure in our marriage ceremony.

ALICE We have been discussing where Jesus was born.

LAURA LEE (puzzled) Doesn't everyone know where Jesus was born?

ALICE (laughing lightly) You might be surprised at the difference of opinions among those present as to where He was born.

GARY (cheery, softly) Alice is simply referring to me as one who questions.

LAURA LEE (gasping) Can I believe what I am hearing?! Jesus is my Lord and Savior!

GARY (placing a hand over hands of Laura Lee) And he is my Lord and Savior, the Son of God. Those who doubt the Bethlehem Birth maintain that Jesus is the Son of God regardless of where he was born.

LAURA LEE (shaking her head) Well, I am both relieved and perplexed by your explanation, Gary dear. (to all in room) But please don't let me hinder your discussion. I am anxious to hear what you are saying.

LORRAINE (to Hartford) What caused you to launch your research pertaining to the birth of Jesus?

HARTFORD Thank you for raising this question, Lorraine. A number of my colleagues in academic circles had doubts about the validity of Christianity as a religion, and some of their skepticism was focused upon the Virgin Birth. I simply wanted for them to understand that Christianity is God's revelation to the world, and that one doesn't have to believe in the Virgin Birth in order to be a true follower of Christ. Wouldn't it be better for them to be Christians and not believe in the Virgin Birth than not be Christians at all?

ALICE (laughing in resignation) Oh, I suppose so. I'll try to live and let live!

(cheers from group members. Door bell rings or knock on outside door. Lorraine leaves room and returns with the Reverend Adele Fairchild who receives a round of applause from those present.)

ADELE (merrily, puzzled) Now I wonder what this is all about, or are you greeting all arrivals so generously?

ALICE (enthusiastically, as Adele is seated in second chair to right of couch) We are saluting your splendid activities in the community and in the world on behalf of suffering humanity. But we have been discussing the Virgin Birth, and your seeming lack of believe in it has been noted.

ADELE I simply believe that my Lord was born in Nazareth and certainly not in Bethlehem. But this is not my chief difficulty with Christmas. I am frustrated with witnessing Easter taking a second place to Christmas in the way Easter is celebrated.

LORRAINE I don't understand, Adele. We have a great celebration of Easter on Easter Sunday, do we not?

ADELE Perhaps this is where the problem lies. Christmas occupies countless hours of our energies and devotions. No doubt the Christmas Eve Eucharist is impressive and we love to sing carols, but Christianity began with Easter as Jesus was resurrected by God. Yet, we portray Christianity as beginning with the birth of Jesus! And I see much evidence that many professing Christians attempt to celebrate Christmas without first celebrating Easter. (pause, rises from her seat and strolls about room) Prior to my coming here this afternoon I was engaged in a long distance phone conversation with a former parishioner in another city. He told me of his feeling depressed and empty and not in any mood or spirit to celebrate Christmas. Following our exploration of the state of his mind and heart, he indicated that the resurrection of Christ had never taken hold of him; that it had not made much difference in his life that he was aware of. Oh, he was always in Church on Easter Sunday, but he broke down and wept as he related to me that the peace and joy which he sought eluded him at the service because he had never come to terms with the command of his resurrected Lord to love God with all his heart and soul and mind and his neighbor as himself. (pause, returns to her seat) Now I have a profound respect and admiration for Mary, the mother of Jesus, for the impact she made upon him during his formative, pre-ministry years. But in stressing the Virgin Birth the church, particularly the church of the Middle Ages, elevated her to a status which downgraded Mary Magdalene, who was closer to Jesus during his ministry than was Mary, his mother. And she was the first to whom Jesus appeared following his resurrection. And may we bear in mind that Christmas was not celebrated during the first three centuries of the Christian era; while Easter, the Resurrection, was celebrated weekly and daily throughout each year.

ALICE (sorrowfully) Then there should be no Christmas pageants?

ADELE Oh, yes, Alice! By all means let us keep the pageants. They provide us with the opportunity to adore Christ - to shower our love and praise upon him.

ALICE But isn't it hypocritical to honor Jesus through a setting in which one may not believe?

ADELE (jovially) Not at all! We are adoring Jesus, the Son of God, regardless of his age, or where he was born, or the time of his life.

HARTFORD (arising from his seat) Let us take the story of the little boy who cried wolf at the wrong time. Now it is doubtful whether any sheep owner in his right mind would have entrusted his flock to a boy no matter how close the workers happened to be, but the truth conveyed by the story is what is important. When my mother told me this story, which she did many times, I was impressed with the need for me to be honest and responsible at all times, regardless of whether a boy was caring for the sheep. (strolls about) I doubt that George Washington chopped down the cherry tree, but it is important to tell this story to illustrate his honesty, just as the presenting of the Christmas pageant may show forth our adoration for our Lord. (Hartford resumes his seat)

DAYTON Our adoration is about the most magnificent gift we can shower upon Christ. It is something we offer without expectation of anything in return. Our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters excel in projecting adoration for Jesus.

ALICE (relieved and jubilant) I understand. We can now proceed with the rehearsal just as soon as the others arrive.

(doorbell rings or knock on outside door. Lorraine leaves room and returns with Stella Birdseye, organist and choir director at St. John's, who is warmly greeted by those present and seated on third chair on right of couch.)

STELLA I received a call from the shepherds and angels just a moment before taking off to come here. They should be here any moment now. (She is served refreshments by Webster)

LORRAINE (to Stella) As usual, we are honored by your playing the music and directing the singing at the Christmas pageant, as well as having you as our organist and choir director at St. John's. Of course, we don't have an organ for you in the Stonestreet residence.

STELLA (laughing gaily) My first love was the piano, and you have a grand one awaiting my touch!

(doorbell rings or knock on outside door. Lorraine leaves room and returns with two singing shepherds, Martin Fells and Felix Winchester, and three singing angels; Betty Jane Sales, Janet Jaynes, and Bernice Brownfield)

ALICE (waving gaily to shepherds and angels) When Laura Lee as the Virgin Mary sits by creche; we shall rehearse the musical portion of our Christmas pageant. (Laura Lee proceeds to sit beside creche) Stanley Armstead, who is playing Joseph, cannot be with us today, but he has no part in the musical presentation. We shall begin our rehearsal with the singing shepherds, Gary, Martin and Felix, entering the stable and standing before the creche which will have a large doll in it at the presentation at St. John's. The singing angels, Betty, Janet and Bernice will depart from their hovering above the creche as shepherds enter stable, but when a brilliant light shines upon creche they return and shepherds fall to their knees. Then Gary will sing Mozart's Alleluia. His rendition will be followed in turn by Martin and Felix. Then the angels will sing the Alleluia in chorus. This will conclude the pageant at St. John's. Let us begin with the shepherds kneeling before the creche and the angels hovering above it.

(The singing of the shepherds and the angels is rehearsed accompanied by Stella on the piano. Recorded or off stage singing of Mozart's Alleluia may replace on stage singing of shepherds and angels. At the conclusion of the rehearsal singing, applause erupts from those witnessing the rehearsal.)

CURTAIN

This page last updated on 8-19-2023.