As today is the Sabbath, we had sacrament meeting at 9am. Chorley has four wards (that I’m aware of anyway, it could be more!) so we met in the pageant theatre to avoid disrupting their meetings. Two cast members were asked to share their testimonies and it was great to hear how pageant has touched their lives and the Spirit they have felt here. I loved that we sang a cappella; Beth (our choir director) leading us with all four parts clearly audible for each hymn. Even though I’m losing my voice I couldn’t refrain from belting out the closing hymn with everyone! I’m grateful to be in the family cast this week – I don’t think my voice could hold out another week in the choir! That said, it doesn’t stop me from humming/singing the pageant songs spontaneously. They are so compelling I just can’t seem to resist!
After sacrament meeting, the family cast were asked to stay to learn the songs. I was allowed off the hook as I’ve been here for choir all week, and initially planned to nap for a bit. Instead I ended up talking with a friend and had a great time getting to know her better. We have been choir buddies all week and shared in the emotion of each night, particularly with the finale songs. I will miss being up on the bridge with her and my other friends in choir, though many have left anyway.
This afternoon we rehearsed the opening half of the pageant.
It might seem unusual to be rehearsing on the Sabbath day, until you consider
that this is not your typical production run to make a profit, but a pageant
that shares the truth we know, meant to uplift and inspire those who attend. We
had fun going through the scenes where families are grouped together and it was
great to spend some time getting to know members of my Blue Family Cast
district (group) better. The children in our district have amazing amounts of
energy, they are great!
We were expecting to rehearse again after the fireside
(church meeting) this evening, but at the end of that half of rehearsal we were
told that we had done so well that we could have the evening off and come back
ready in the morning! It really was a blessing of the Sabbath – an extra
measure of the Spirit to help us do better than usual. Dinner was a great opportunity to get to know people better – one of the lovely women in my district had invited me and several others to dinner and the kitchen was filled with cast and choir members making their dinners, talking and laughing and even occasionally bursting into song (usually pageant ones though I did hear a couple of random ones thrown in for variation!) I love that the feeling of unity doesn’t end when we step off the stage or leave the pageant theatre each day. There really is a spirit of Zion here. The members of the choir for this week arrived today so we are looking forward to their voices blending together each evening this week. I know I've mentioned it before, but the music really does add another level to this pageant.
This evening’s fireside was so uplifting. I love that our
Pageant Presidency are able to share humorous moments as well as very spiritual
ones. President Roberts shared a scripture with us found in Doctrine and
Covenants 64:33-34: “Wherefore be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying
the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which
is great. Behold the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind.” That is so
applicable to us here! We ARE tired, but keep on giving. We are giving the Lord
our hearts and willing minds in this and it is the small things that are making
this pageant so great.
President Kerr reminded us that our time here is not an
experience that lasts for a limited time; a week, a month, a year…but an
experience that will be with us, part of us, for the rest of our lives. I am so
grateful for that reminder.
As I was listening to the speakers during the fireside, I
had a few thoughts. The first was that everyone here has made sacrifices to be
here. Those sacrifices – to me at least – somehow equalises us all. Perhaps
because of that, we are willing to serve each other and lift each other, and
the Lord is blessing us for it. We are able to cope on less sleep than usual –
and still keep smiling! We are able to perform to a standard that people with
our rehearsal time should not be able to perform to. We are living the gospel
and loving it. President Kerr also shared a comment made by the BBC cameraman
that visited earlier this week – apparently he had never seen a happier bunch
of people, which brings to mind a scripture found in 2 Nephi 2:25: “Adam fell
that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.”
There is great joy here in Chorley, and I hope that any of
you who are still without tickets will find a way to get here so that we can
share it with you.
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