This is the church I grew up in, the last five years it has been swallowed by members of the hispanic community. I left the church due to personal reasons in 2000, my folks left in 2003. I remember when we had a congregation that understood each other, no matter the color of their skin or nation of origin.

http://www.emporiagazette.com/news/2006 ... s_pageant/

The shepherds stared in awe as the angels arrived. From the nearby speaker system, the old Christmas verses echoed across the sanctuary of First Friends Church.

“No temais; porque he aqui os doy nuevas de gran gozo ...” Ada Escamilla read into the microphone. The Spanish words continued for a minute or two longer. Then it was Marjorie Miller’s turn.

“Don’t be afraid, for I bring you good news of great joy ...”

This will be the second year that First Friends has held a bilingual Christmas pageant, bringing together its Spanish-speaking and English-speaking congregations. At Sunday night’s practice, the sights were familiar enough: wise men and shepherds struggling into their robes, a young angel chewing on his halo, wooden camels leaning up against the wall.

Tomas Martinez watches members of his church rehearse for their Christmas program. Martinez is the director of the program at First Friends Church.

Of course, coordinating a bilingual Nativity has its own unique challenges, such as finding just the right word to explain something to everyone.

“It gives you an opportunity to laugh at yourself as you struggle with the language barrier,” said the Rev. Charity Sandstrom, the English-language pastor who plays Mary. “It turns comical very quickly.”

As the practice proceeded, the Rev. Tomas Martinez often seemed to be in a dozen places at once: directing the action, checking a tableau, helping wrestle scenery into the sanctuary. Both versions of the script were written by Martinez, the pastor of the Hispanic congregation.

“When I was a youth in my church in Guatemala, we made dramas, Biblical dramas, which I liked,” Martinez said. “When we got here, I asked one committee, ‘What do you think about Christmas?’ They said ‘Great!’ I asked ‘What do you think about a drama? And they said ‘We like it, but who would do it?’”

Martinez immediately volunteered. Soon he and the other pastor at the time, the Rev. Tom Decker, had a pageant.
Richard Sandstrom prays to God for guidance as Joseph in the First Friends Church Christmas program. The program is in both english and spanish.

The response has been good. The two congregations combined have about 70 members, but at least 20 have taken part in the pageant each year. And last year, it drew a little attention.

‘We had a pretty nice crowd, about 100 people,” said Betty Jo Plank as she watched the action in her angel costume. “And most of our congregation was up there in the program!”

None of the performers have any lines except for the two narrators, who read from the script. Everybody else gets to pantomime ... which, admittedly, is easier when you understand the words.

“You just have to really, really listen to know when you come in,” Plank said.

The pageant begins at 6 p.m. Sunday in the church, located at Sixth Avenue and Sylvan Street.

Meanwhile, Martinez is already setting his sights on the next Christmas pageant.

“I work hard in preparing to make next year better,” he said. “Maybe this time next year, we’ll be needing a bigger place. Who knows?”