I can hardly believe it’s almost time for the Christmas cantata at our church! Yikes! We have a lot of work to do before we’re going to be ready. Our program is going to be the morning of December 14 with a brunch to follow in the basement of our church in New Freedom, PA. We will be performing Christmas at Home put out by Majesty Music.
I am in charge of the choir. We have been working on the songs but we have a lot more to do and only a few short weeks to get it done! When we started out it seemed like we had plenty of time but that time sure does fly!
The actors have a lot of work to do too! The story line is so moving. It starts out about a lady who has just had a baby on Christmas. Her husband was killed in war and she is all alone. Once the baby boy reaches his young teen years he wants to head off to war (the Civil War) and be a drummer boy. The mother makes him promise that he will be home for Christmas.
Events happen that the boys is not able to make it home for Christmas but he sends his Bible home with a special doctor to his mother. I don’t want to give everything away but suffice it to say it is a good story to bring anyone to tears! With our own young men off to war this story is especially touching.
One of the trickiest things about a performance in our church is the lighting. Last year we used some equipment similar to the X10 Keychain Remote and X10 lamp modules I found on the Home Automation Store. This was an easy setup for our small church and allowed us to turn lights off and on as needed. I must admit that I accidentally turned off one of the lamps and left it off the whole time, but otherwise, it worked out well. My poor husband who was one of the actors was trying to tell me to turn the light on but I was sure it was already on and . . . oh well. The program went well anyway!
Christmas cantatas are one of my favorite parts of Christmas. I love the music and the story! The preparation may be a bit long and sometimes a little stressful but it’s worth it! It’s just like making Christmas cookies, it takes a long time and makes a mess, but the end product makes all the rest worth it!