Children's Christmas Pageant Depicts Nativity Story

The Moreno Valley United Methodist Church (MVUMC) held a Children's Christmas Pageant on Dec. 15, planned and hosted by the children's ministry. The event, called "Celebration of the Christ Child," highlighted the importance of the Christmas holiday as a time to remember the day Jesus was born to Mary in Christian belief. Event organizer Katrina Pahulu explained, “The pageant is to entertain the kids but most of all it's also to educate them in why we celebrate Christmas. That is why the day is named after Jesus.” About 60 children were part of this year’s pageant. Pahulu gave a special thank you to those who contributed to the production, including Grace Youngston on the piano and Brian Fish for donating his father's spotlight before the show began. Each child was dressed up as a Biblical character and the story began with the virgin Mary in Galilee of Nazareth as she was being told by an angel that she was to conceive a son by the Holy Spirit. The angel told her the child would be a son of God. When Mary told Joseph, her fiancé, he was a little discouraged but was accepting of Mary. The play then depicted Mary giving birth to Jesus Christ. This triggered a symphony of kids to begin singing a melody of numerous hallelujahs. For the closing act, the actors and actresses got together onstage and began to sing a mixture of verses from songs such as "Amazing Grace" and "Deck the Halls" to throw in a little Christmas spirit. Rows of parents and relatives stood up and gave a round of applause to the kids. Pastor Finau then gave another thank you to those who helped put together the show.