Gearing up for Christmas program
Nancy Garcia is once again in the process of organizing the Superior-St. Regis sponsored annual Christmas Ecumenical service in December. The event, which saw 190 attendees last year, started more than 50 years ago when the Methodist ladies started getting together to hold Christmas parties in the church basement.
Before too long, the ladies invited other women from the area’s churches and soon enough someone had the idea of putting on a program for the community.
“I have old bulletins that say so and so was playing the piano from this sure and so and so from this church was doing this,” Garcia said.
As time went on, it wasn’t necessary to list what church you were from and before too long, people from within the community were more than welcome to perform as well. Several different people volunteered to perform a wide variety of items from readings to musical numbers.
Garcia became involved with the program when she started typing up the bulletins several years ago.
“I helped out by just typing the bulletins,” Garcia said. “The program kept getting bigger and bigger. One year that we squeezed into the church people were standing outside the door, pews were packed and chairs were set in the aisle way. People would trade seats when it came time for who they wanted to hear to sit up front.”
Garcia mentioned that they needed a new facility, but that was shot down right away. Eventually, the program was moved to the LDS church and before too long it also was held in the Catholic Church as well. Now, the program rotates between the two venues each year.
The program is held on the first Monday of December every year and this year it will begin at 7 p.m. on Dec. 6 and will be held in the St. Mary’s Queen of Heaven Catholic Church in Superior. The Methodist ladies always put on the reception after the performances and Garcia said that each year offers plenty of diversity.
“It’s a good way to kick off the Ecumenical season,” Garcia said. “I enjoy the whole thing. We have diversity and it’s not always people singing or reading.”
The community choir puts a huge effort into the show every year and has been practicing for this year’s performance since September, Garcia said. The community band will also play for fifteen minutes before the show as people arrive. Garcia said that people come up all the time thanking her for the program, but she insists that she doesn’t do much.
“I don’t do anything but type up the bulletins and put people in order,” Garcia said. “The people that perform during the program are the people that need to be thanked. They put in a lot more time and hours than I do and only perform for a limited amount of time. There are a lot of talented people in this area.”
Garcia said that one lady has told her that the program is the best thing that has happened for the area.
“I think it’s a really special performance,” Garcia said. “It’s not secular music. You can turn a program on television, but it’s not going and hearing and seeing people from your own community.”
Garcia said they try to keep the program just a little over an hour as it is a school night. She said that f you want a seat come early as it fills up pretty quickly. Again, admission is free, though Garcia said they are asking for food donations that are nonperishable. For further information, or if you wish to participate, call Garcia at 822-4570.