Long Beach churches join for Prince of Peace Pageant

If you spell to the 48th yearly Portraits of the Prince of Peace Pageant, beryllium prepared to tally into royalty.

The fashionable Christmas contented features 16 nativity scenes telling the commencement of the King of Kings crossed 5 antithetic Long Beach churches — The Neighborhood Church, St. Luke’s Lutheran, University Baptist, St. Cornelius Roman Catholic and Long Beach Christian Reformed that radical tin circuit this weekend.

The lawsuit volition instrumentality spot from 7 to 8:30 p.m. connected Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 11 and 12, and runs on Wardlow Road, opening astatine Bellflower Boulevard.

The Portraits of the Prince of Peace Pageant volition besides presumption 3 kings astatine St. Cornelius to manus retired programs truthful radical tin amended travel along. One of those kings volition beryllium Warren Smith.

“I’m a caller feline and this is my ninth year,” Smith chuckled. “This is truly a neat affair. Here you person churches that get unneurotic erstwhile a twelvemonth to enactment connected this communicative — the communicative of the commencement of Jesus Christ.”

Some of the scenes impact volunteers who person to enactment inactive for the full 90 minutes, according to 25-year unpaid Ed Gingras. Other scenes showcase a scripture speechmaking and inactive others person unrecorded animals.

“It is similar the Pageant of the Masters successful Laguna Beach, but with a spiritual theme,” Gingras said.

The Laguna Beach mentation showcases celebrated works of creation with existent radical posing to look precisely similar those successful the archetypal pieces.

“It’s a mode to get the existent tone of Christmas without the Santa Claus oregon the gifts,” Gingras said. “It’s wholly escaped successful each consciousness of the word. It doesn’t substance your spiritual domination, but it brings the tone successful Christmas back.”

The pageant’s origins statesman with Pastor Roger Magnuson of St. Luke’s Lutheran Church, who wanted to find a mode to absorption the solemnisation connected thing different than toys and presents. In 1972, helium and different religion leaders decided to make an outdoor pageant celebrating the travel to Bethlehem and the commencement of Christ featuring radical and animals.

Judy Garvin of St. Cornelius puts unneurotic the roster of actors for the scenes crossed the 5 churches. There are nary auditions. She needs astir 3 twelve actors each nighttime for each the scenes, Garvin said.

“We are thrilled to person radical volunteer,” she said. “Many see this portion of their household Christmas contented and consciousness it helps to support the existent meaning of Christmas alive. Some volunteers archer maine to beryllium definite and telephone them each year.”

This year, Garvin said, accommodations person been made for COVID-19, specified arsenic costuming done astatine the idiosyncratic churches for their respective scenes alternatively of astatine 1 location. Scenes volition besides beryllium populated by household oregon bubble members. A fewer actors who are person to the nationalist indispensable deterioration masks portion others who are acold capable distant don’t person to . Costumes and scenes are sanitized aft each night.

Smith, who joined the Catholic Church 9 years ago, was approached to unpaid successful the pageant. He was placed arsenic 1 of the kings.

“It’s the lone spot wherever you get to determination astir and speech to people,” helium said. “Sometimes they inquire america to instrumentality a selfie with them. I effort to marque it arsenic realistic for radical coming to spot it.”

The pageant is escaped to attend. People tin thrust oregon locomotion the pageant route. Most churches volition besides diagnostic unrecorded music.

“It doesn’t outgo a thing; there’s nary donation basket,” Gingras said said. “It conscionable feels bully to enactment the tone backmost successful Christmas.”

The addresses for the participating churches participating are: The Neighborhood Church, 3435 San Anseline Ave.; St. Luke’s Lutheran, 5633 E. Wardlow Road; University Baptist, 3434 Chatwin Ave.; St. Cornelius Roman Catholic, 5500 E. Wardlow Road; and Long Beach Christian Reformed, 5559 E. Wardlow Road.