Shawn and Gretchen Martin were delighted when their seven-year-old daughter, Mackenzie, announced that she wanted to participate in this year’s Christmas Carol Festival in Resurrection Parish, Delran.

While Mackenzie was excited that she could have a role as an angel during the retelling of the Christmas story – her parents saw the festival as an effective teaching tool about the Birth of Christ.

“Mackenzie had an opportunity to learn about it in a different way because she participated in it,” said Shawn Martin. “The Christmas Carol Festival helped to bring the true meaning of Christmas alive for her.”

Resurrection Parish was one of 20 parishes that scheduled Christmas Carol Festivals this year, with an estimated 5,000 adults and children participating across the diocese.

Reflecting on the festival idea, John Boucher, who created the program with his wife, Therese, said that it is designed to help people of all ages reconnect with their faith during the holiday season.

While the format may vary among parishes, common elements include singing of traditional carols, Scripture readings and sharing of prayer and individual faith witness experiences. Ideally, the festivals are also designed to serve as an evangelization tool, offering a first step back to the Church for those who may have been away or are not actively practicing their faith, said Boucher, associate director of evangelization in the diocesan Ministry of Catechesis and Evangelization.

A Community Builder

Parishes such as Resurrection, St. Rose of Lima, Freehold, and St. Catharine of Siena, Seaside Park, have found that the Christmas Carol Festivals have gained momentum and become an offering that  parishioners look forward to each Advent season.

St. Rose of Lima Parish, which hosted its third festival Dec. 16, offered its own special take this year. The youth group took charge of decorating the stage, using branches and boughs salvaged from the recent hurricane, and the crèche was the work of parish pastoral associate, Karen Powell, who created it by cutting and lashing together limbs from a former Christmas tree.

The festival had the community joining in prayer led by Father James Conover, pastor, during which he offered special intentions for the victims of the school shootings in Newtown, Conn., and their families. The contemporary choir led the singing of many traditional Christmas carols, and there were a number of other singers on hand who lent their vocal talents.

Seven-year-old Ella Clemenko and her 10-year-old sister, Madelynn, sang a lovely rendition of “Away in a Manger,” and 10 second-graders from the parish religious education program sang “Happy Birthday, Jesus.” The rich diversity of the parish was reflected when the congregation sang, “Silent Night” in English and Spanish.

Other festival highlights included parish members sharing personal faith journey stories, including those who entered the Catholic Church through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.

The festival concluded with the singing of “We Three Kings.” Each person present was asked to reflect on what his or her gift to the Christ child might be and then write it down. The congregation then joined in a procession, and as each person passed the crèche, they gently placed the slip of paper with their “gift” inside. The CCF committee will mail the slips of paper back to the “givers” and include an invitation to the parish’s “Cradle to the Cross” event that’s scheduled for Jan. 27 from 2:30 to 4 p.m.

Maintaining a Tradition

For St. Catharine of Siena Parish, this year’s festival helped to build community in a different kind of way.

Andrea Vahey, who initiated the festival in the parish four years ago, said that after Hurricane Sandy swept through Seaside Park, the festival that had been scheduled for Dec. 2 might not come to pass. Many parishioners were forced to relocate from their homes and the church building had to temporarily close its doors because of storm damage.

In an attempt to keep the tradition going, a new location was found in nearby St. Justin the Martyr Parish, Toms River. Vahey smiled as she acknowledged Father Mark Kreder, St. Justin pastor, who readily warmed to the idea of having his parish as the location for the festival, and how parishioners from both St. Catharine of Siena and St. Justin Parish worked together to plan the details. One of the special highlights in St. Catharine of Siena Parish occurs during the social that follows the festival. Candlelit cupcakes are served and everyone joins in singing a hearty rendition of “Happy Birthday Dear Jesus.”

Vahey said that “it was very good for people to be together” at the festival, then noted that the suggestion had come up that St. Justin and St. Catharine Parishes should consider collaborating on Christmas Carol Festivals in the future.

Compiled by Mary Stadnyk, news editor, Lois Rogers, features editor, and Rosemary Daniels, correspondent.

Compiled by Mary Stadnyk, news editor, Lois Rogers, features editor, and Rosemary Daniels, correspondent.