Pre-Thanksgiving Festivities

This past weekend, we were busy with church activities, including the Thanksgiving Pageant. The adult choir was accompanying the children’s choir for the pageant, so my husband had rehearsals or performances on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I saw the play on Saturday, and I thought the whole thing was über-adorable. Our church has learned that kids don’t do well if they have to learn lines, so we’ve gotten smart about it, and have a narrator telling the story while the kids act out the narration. There’s plenty of room for improvisation: the kids who wave to their parents, or rearrange their costumes, or scratch private itches, or suddenly display jazz hands. The play was called “The Tree in Tappen Wood,” about a centuries-old tree (played by the minister) that has seen the history of America played out, including, but not limited to, Native Americans, Pilgrims, runaway slaves, Abraham Lincoln, and forest animals (because you need roles for all of the littlest kids). All tied up with a heavy dose of peace, love, freedom, and gratitude.

On Sunday, I spent the day helping set up and serve at the church’s annual Thanksgiving Potluck, held following the Sunday service/pageant. Our church is growing so much that this year, we had to rent the community center to fit the whole congregation together. For $135, we got a room set up with tables to seat 220 people. Including paper products, drinks, and decorations, the whole tab came to about $1 a head. If I ever have to pay for a wedding, I’m thinking a potluck at the community center might be the way to go.