At 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, Dec.15, The First Presbyterian Church of Lake Forest, 700 North Sheridan Road, was filled to the rafters, with a standing-room-only crowd filled with anticipation.
The Annual Christmas Pageant at First Presbyterian Church of Lake Forest has become a tradition that runs deep into the history of the church and its Lake Forest family for more than 50 years.
Rachel Magnusson director of the children’s ministry, at First Presbyterian, says that a third of children performing in this year’s pageant have at least one family member who has performed in the pageant in the past.
Excerpted from the pageant program, the season of Advent is a season of waiting and preparation, designed to cultivate our awareness of God’s action in the past, present, and future.
“The timing of the annual Christmas pageant, usually during the third week of advent, is a high-spirited celebration, about happiness and joy, in anticipation of Christmas and the birth of baby Jesus,” Magnusson said.
With 64 children 10 years old and under, 15 youth participants, and a handful of adults, the pageant involves upwards of 80 participants, making it the largest multi-generational event of the year.
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What’s most important Magnusson says, is that it involves all of the children and the youth of the church in the telling of the Nativity story.
“It provides an opportunity for all of the music ministries to collaborate and to work together, and gives the children and the youth an opportunity to lead the congregation,” Magnusson said.
Gina Grillo is a freelancer for Pioneer Press.