{"id":22912,"date":"2019-12-20T20:16:11","date_gmt":"2019-12-21T01:16:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=22912"},"modified":"2020-02-08T12:35:33","modified_gmt":"2020-02-08T17:35:33","slug":"preschool-tells-the-story-of-christmas-12-12-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=22912","title":{"rendered":"Preschool Tells the Story of Christmas (12\/12\/19)"},"content":{"rendered":"

On the morning of Thursday December 12 (and during the 9:30 service on Sunday the 15th), over 50 pre-K students of Our Father’s House filled the chancel area of our sanctuary to tell the “True Story of Christmas.” A boy and a girl were dressed as Mary and Joseph. There were three wise men, a drummer boy, and an innkeeper. Several were dressed as donkeys, cows and sheep. There were bell players, candlelight holders, and the “Heavenly Happy Birthday Choir.” Accompanied by pianist Mike Murphy (“Mr. Mike”) and directed by their teachers, the kids sang and motioned their way through the biblical account of that first Christmas as OFH Director Eileen Salmon read the narration before each song. <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

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The True Story of Christmas<\/span><\/h3>\n

The Christmas Story; we’ve heard it so many times over the years that it’s perhaps too familiar. It’s tied to childhood memories, or family traditions, or even movies and TV specials. Who hasn’t seen Linus reciting the biblical account? And yet, when the story is presented by children, it takes on a fresh aura. When kids (even fictitious ones like Linus) tell the story, grownups want to listen. Somehow our perception of Christmas has grown complicated with theology and culture, and hearing the children brings us back to the roots of what happened in Bethlehem so many years ago.<\/p>\n

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No Room…<\/span><\/h4>\n

The pageant began the Christmas Story on Christmas Eve. Instead of decorating a tree and wrapping gifts, the participants in that first Christmas were simply looking for a place to spend the night after a long journey. The story is told in Luke 2:1-7 (all quotations are from the New International Version)…<\/p>\n\n\t\t

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In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. <\/span><\/em>\n\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t<\/div> \n

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Instead of simply reading the story, the children energetically demonstrated that there was Noooo room when Mary and Joseph knocked-knocked-knocked on the innkeeper’s door…<\/p>\n

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