| Diocesan News

WEST CHICAGO, Ill. (Catholic Explorer) - Though it might not have been midnight in Bethlehem, it was definitely bitter cold when the eighth grade students at St. Mary School in West Chicago reenacted the birth of Jesus twice on the evening of Dec. 2 outside their school.

Casting the baby

For over 13 years the students at the Catholic elementary school have been participating in the Christmas play, which is performed outdoors with live animals and a real infant. This year the baby Jesus was portrayed by 4-month-old Annemarie Kaminski. Her parents, Steve and Allison Kaminski of Bartlett, played St. Joseph and the Blessed Virgin Mary.

“I start looking for parents with a baby in February or March,” said Nancy Coughlin, principal at the West Chicago school. “Last year the baby was only a few weeks old and it was even colder than it is tonight, but the parents have been really great. We haven’t had to use a doll yet.”

Pamela Doll recalled that she was approached by Coughlin the first week of school in 2006 and asked if she and her husband, Frank Fehrenbach, would allow their (at the time) unborn baby to portray Jesus in the nativity play.

“Mrs. Coughlin was very coy about it. I thought it was hilarious,” Doll said. “Elliot was due Nov. 3 so my husband and I talked it over and knew he would be around 6 weeks old so we said OK. Actually, we thought it would be quite an honor for Elliot and we knew his brother, Connor, would be thrilled.” Connor is a third grade student at St. Mary School this year.

Recalling the babe in the manger

Yuriko Rodriguez, the only girl in the eighth grade class, portrays an angel during the first performance.

Annemarie didn’t seem to mind the cold weather this year. The baby, who was dressed in several layers and wrapped tightly in a blanket resembling swaddling clothing, slept through the entire second performance.

The Kaminskis have two children at the school, Rebecca in first grade, and Emma, in pre-kindergarten. Allison volunteers at the school and, when Coughlin contacted the couple about performing in the play with their newborn, Allison said they knew almost immediately that they would do it.

Being in the play “made you really think about what it was like when Jesus was born,” Allison said following one of the performances. She and her husband played their roles well, dressed in garments similar to what Mary and Joseph would have worn 2,000 years ago, with no mittens and no coats.

“It was really neat when the three kings came to us,” Steve said, explaining a segment when the three wise men individually presented their gifts to the holy family. “It made me feel like I was really there” at the birth of Jesus.

Between the two performances children in the other grades performed holiday songs for their parents and families inside the church.

“Listen carefully to hear the children’s sweet angelic voices,” said Father William Conway, pastor at St. Mary Parish, as the children filed in to sing. He told the Catholic Explorer that the Nativity play “is a marvelous opportunity for the children to witness the miracle of Jesus’ birth. It also sets the tone for the season of Christmas and for getting people in touch with the meaning of Advent.”

Youngsters play the three kings during the Dec. 2 performance.

Much-anticipated tradition

Because there are only 12 students in Kristin Gross’ eighth grade class at St. Mary School, each student played at least one role in the two performances. The students are Sean Gloss, Daniel Gonzalez, Jack Manning, Luis Medina, Nicholas Mokodanski, Joshua Penas, Anthony Radun, Kevin Schwarz, Andrew Sunde, Bradley Szmurlo, Brendon West-Hooper and the only girl, Yuriko Rodriguez.

“I have been at St. Mary’s School for 10 years,” Rodriguez said, “so I have been looking forward to (the play) since it is my last year here. I liked the fact that everyone joins in and we all do it together. It is more special this year because I am in it and my family was looking forward to it. It’s just so special.”

Gloss, who said he has been a student at St. Mary School his “entire life,” noted he was excited about the performance as well.

“We worked on it for two weeks and I was really looking forward to it,” he said. “The best part was being able to represent your faith in God.”

Gloss played a king in the first reenactment and an angel in the second. Until last year the costumes were rented, but this year Nancy Curran, a three-year parishioner, made the angel costumes. She said she will create all new costumes for next year’s performance and will have to keep her eyes open all year for deals on fabrics and trims.

“I love the play,” Curran said as she adjusted one of the angel’s wings between the performances. “It is very special and it helps us bring in the Christmas season.”

Behind the scenes

With a son in this year’s play, Liz Manning volunteered to help and has been busy for several months making sure the correct animals and costumes were rented and that the outside of the church was decorated. She and her team were out Dec. 1 during the snow and ice storm trimming the church.

“I’ve been working on it for several months, getting the animals, hanging the garland and decorations in front of the church and setting up the manger scene,” Manning said.

“This is a wonderful community and it really comes together this time of year,” she said. “These kids have been together since they were 4 years old, so this play is a rite of passage as an eighth grader.”

Diane and Gary Szmurlo have two children at the school. Their son Bradley was an angel in the play giving the couple a chance to brag that their son was truly an angel. They said they attend every year because it revolves around their faith and the Christmas season.

“It is very moving, recreating the birth of Jesus,” Diane said. “It has always been special and something the parents and children look forward to. It’s also great the way they try to recreate it with the goats and sheep and music. It’s just so beautiful. It is so nice because it reminds of the true meaning of the season.”