Council President Amy Halt and Deacon Katherine Harcourt rewrote Clement Moore’s classic Christmas poem to answer our children’s many questions about the church’s recent fire. They turned it into a stirring message of communal caring and action that brought the FCC church family together to meet the challenge of unforeseen disaster. So, with municipal police and volunteer firefighters, instead of shepherds and their sheep,
and with church members responding to an early morning fire, instead of 3 wise men, the words of the revised FCC Night Before Halloween Christmas Pageant, are printed below for your pleasure.
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Christmas pageant
Twas the night before Halloween
And all through FCC
Not a creature was stirring
Not even mice in the pantry.
The kitchen was dark
and the dishes were clean,
The children were home asleep
Dreaming of candy on Halloween.
The dishwasher was silent,
Asleep, until “zing” . . .
Was it a power surge that kindled
a flame that made the alarms ring?
And Reverend Nancy in her kerchief
And Nikita wearing his cap
Had been all settled down
For their Hallows Eve nap
When on the church lawn
There arose such an uproar
As the Bristol police and fire department
Tried to get in the door.
The fire alarm was sounding,
Smoke was billowing out
Of the kitchen which was burning.
But thankfully its doors were shut.
The moon that rose over
the bell tower that night
Illuminated all those
Who came to battle the firefight.
But what to their wondering eyes did they see
When the kitchen doors were opened
Exposing all of the casualties?
Well, that wooden coffee cart,
So little and stout,
Was untouched by the flames.
It had no embers to rout.
More rapid than eagles
Some church members came
When called by emergency
Responders by name.
Now Sandie Campbell,
Now Charlie Tupper,
Now Roger and Donna Dubord too.
And Rev Nancy
broke speed limits.
She practically flew!
To the top of High Street
On a night in the fall
They came straight away rapidly fearful of all.
As dry leaves in the yard fluttered on by
What a relief it was to see the bell tower standing so high.
In such a twinkling, life’s hurdles are rough
And FCC has known challenges more than enough.
Yet we drew a collective breath
As we all stood around
In the yard on November 2nd,
what hallowed ground.
What to do, what to do, when trouble’s afoot?
Nancy cursing the stove didn’t cause
All to be covered in soot.
There was so much to do with the upcoming season
-- Thanksgiving and Christmas!
Jesus is the reason!
We had community commitments
And the Harvest Bazaar
What about the Cookie Walk?
Well now we weren’t going far!
But a church is not just made
Up by a building.
It’s the people within
It’s the love. It’s a feeling.
A church should spread the message
Of God’s love sent down
In the form of a baby.
Not a king with a crown.
So instead of lamenting,
We all went to work.
No time for fomenting.
We didn’t go berserk.
We just relied on the strength
Of God’s love in each other.
With the helping guidance of
Reverend Nancy, Roger, and one another,
We adapted and changed
Our plans to accommodate
The repairs to be made.
We did not curse fate.
So now we all can exclaim:
We have seen God’s love in spite
Of our Halloween Eve!
Merry Christmas tonight!