YMCA Hosts Easter Pageant

The Grant County Family YMCA hosted Marion’s biannual Easter Pageant, which was first started in 1937.

Men, women, and children from different walks of life came together to present the Easter story to thousands of people. The story is presented in six scenes, and takes the audience from Marion to Jerusalem, where they experience joy, suffering, trial, sorrow, and then finally an outburst of praise.

This performance is a huge community effort, and it takes all hands on deck to make the show run smoothly while conveying one of the most important stories in the Bible.

A big factor in this production is that all of the cast and crew members are to remain anonymous.

One stage crew member said that this event is important in today’s culture.

“This is important for waking up the world to what is coming and what is going on,” he said. “We have to reach out and let the world know that the way out is through Jesus Christ.”

The actor who portrayed Jesus, who is also to remain anonymous, said that he believes the pageant is equally as important for people to see.

“The re-telling of the life of Christ and what He sacrificed is important for us to tell,” he said. “Culturally, it is a dark time where people do not have a lot of hope, and He is the light in that darkness.”

This actor explained that there is a lot of time and effort on behalf of the cast and crew that goes into making this performance come to life.

“We start acting in January, and the younger kids and the dancers start even before that,” he said. “It takes a village to pull this off, and we definitely have a village.”

As the show has no dialogue, it relies heavily on music to move the scenes along. The scenes are guided by the singing of the choir and performing of the orchestra.

Indiana Wesleyan University’s Chorale and Wind Ensemble teams make up a part of this choir, and play an important role in the story.

A member of the Wind Ensemble shared that this was a powerful experience to be a part of.

“I enjoyed participating in this event,” she said. “Watching the gospel message creatively unfold was a powerful and meaningful experience, and I definitely felt closer to God during this performance.”

She said that the outcome of the show was a great success, and that she would recommend it to anyone who is interested and willing to come.

“The shows provide a unique and beautiful perspective of the gospel message. I know I was moved by this experience, and it helped me to reflect more deeply on the significance of the Easter story,” she said.

The New Marion Easter Pageant is always searching for people to participate in future pageants. For more information, or to become a cast or crew member in the future, visit www.easterpageant.com