Church Pageant Ideas
Church pageants can celebrate any number of events, occasions or holidays. A pageant is a procession or dramatic presentation. Church pageants celebrate special biblical historical events, such as the birth, death and Resurrection of Jesus. They might celebrate God's love with a valentine theme, a patriotic theme or appreciation of the church's staff or members. Pageants can take the form of plays, dramatic readings or other presentations.
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Christmas Drama
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Children celebrate with a church Christmas program that focuses on the birth of Jesus. You can write dialog for Mary and Joseph, the angel and the shepherds. You can also make it a narration, with a narrator or two reading the Christmas story from Luke 2:1-19, while the actors, in costume, act out the story on stage.
This Nativity pageant can inclue a choir, arranged at the rear of the stage in a semicircle around the action. At appropriate spots during the pageant, the choir can enhance the story with favorites such as "Joy to the World," "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem," and "Hark! The Herold Angels Sing." Have preschoolers sing, "Away in the Manger."
Easter Procession
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Tell the Easter story through key characters. Only speakers will be in Biblical costumes. These can be as simple as brown robes. Write the drama from the viewpoints of Pilate, Peter, John, Judas, Mary and other women, as well as the angel. Every child carries a palm branch. The children stand at the back and the sides of the sanctuary. They enter singing "The Old Rugged Cross."
Those with speaking parts sit on stage, taking turns between songs to voice their lines. A narrator can read applicable Bible passages. Other songs can include "Amazing Grace," "Christ Arose," "Christ the Lord is Risen Today," and "He Lives." As the children sing the last song, actors join them as they march around the sanctuary waving their branches.
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Independence Day Celebration
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Combine poems, quotes and music for a celebration of America. Have one person read a short piece on the history of America. You might choose several people to dramatically read Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, "Paul Revere's Ride." Have others either use quotes or write their own poems on their appreciation of the American tradition of freedom to speak and worship. Intersperse the readings with music. Songs might include the "Battle Hymn of the Republic," ""My Country, 'Tis of Thee," "America the Beautiful," "God of Our Fathers," with everyone singing the national anthem "The Star-Spangled Banner." You can do monologues about the place each song had in the history of the United States.
Thanksgiving Chorale
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Divide participants into three groups by voice: low, medium and high. The low voices stand on one side of the stage, the high voices on the opposite side, with the medium voices centered between them toward the back of the stage. Between the groups are two narrators.
Choose a list of thanksgiving songs for the pageant presentation. Songs might include "Now Thank We All Our God," "Come, Ye Thankful People, Come," "We Gather Together" and "Count Your Blessings." For example, "Come, Ye Thankful People, Come" has four verses. Let the low voices sing the first verse, medium voices the second, the high voices the third and all on the fourth. For songs with refrains or repeated choruses, have all sing. The organizer decides who sings which parts, and how many verses to sing. In between songs, have the narrators take turns reading from Psalm 118 or other praise psalms.
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References
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