VENTNOR – The misty rain forced the celebration indoors where parents and members of the community enjoyed the children’s rendition of the Birth of Christ.
The live animals, including a camel, sheep and a cow, remained at the creche while the faithful gathered in the parish hall to hear the Children’s Choir sing carols while others played the part of the Holy Family, angels and shepherds.
Liam McCormick of Absecon is only nine years old, but he is a veteran of attending the Live Nativity at St. James Church.
“I come here every year,” he said standing in the drizzle. “I like seeing the animals the best.’
He attended with his two brothers, ages 6 and 11, his dad, and grandmother Eileen DiPasquale, who lives in Ventnor.
“They love singing and it’s important that they learn the true meaning of Christmas,” DiPasquale said.
Fr. Pawel Kryszkiewicz, pastor of Holy Trinity Parish, which includes Blessed Sacrament Church in Margate and Church of the Epiphany in Longport, opened the pageant sponsored by the parish’s Knights of Columbus 7316 and Alter and Rosary Society, with a prayer and speaking to the real meaning of Christmas.
“Where I come from in Poland, it is common to have rain and gloom, but Christmas lights up our hearts and minds,” he said.
The pageant was modeled after the first live Nativity arranged by St. Francis of Assisi before a special Christmas Eve Mass in Greccio, Italy in 1223 Anno Domini. Legend has it that St. Francis was so inspired by his visit to the birthplace of Jesus Christ the year before that he gathered the faithful to recreate the trek of Mary and Joseph to the stable where their child was born into poverty, and to overcome the materialism surrounding the holiday at that time.
“I want to do something that will recall the memory of that Child who was born in Bethlehem, to see with bodily eyes the inconveniences of his infancy, how he lay in the manger, and how the ox and ass stood by,” St. Francis said.
The older children played the role of Mary and Joseph, while the younger ones were angels and shepherds. Three boys playing the Three Kings brough gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Fellowship afterward included lots of cookies and hot cocoa.
St. James Church in Ventnor held its annual Live Nativity Monday, Dec. 16, 2024.Copyright Access Network 2024
