Sunday’s “Nativity Festival” in Jefferson, benefitting local projects of Habitat for Humanity, will include performances by nearly 100 musicians in church choirs and two smaller groups, and among their features will be two compositions and an original poem by local artists.
One of those compositions is “Magnificat,” to be performed by the St. Joseph Catholic Church choir. It is basically the “Song of Mary,” mother-to-be of Jesus, about her faith in carrying the Christ child. The score of this “Magnificat” was a collaboration in 1986 by then-St. Joseph organist Doris McGregor composing the music and Iowa Supreme Court Justice David Harris, who lived in Jefferson, on the lyrics. Both McGregor and Harris died in 2010.
Their “Magnificat” was first performed one time, at an Advent mass at St. Joseph Church in ’86, and was widely praised, but it has never been performed since then, according to choir director Sheilah Pound.
The other original composition to be performed is a local favorite, “Can I Hold the Baby, Mary?” written in 1992 by Maureen Borkowski of Jefferson. She still plays and sings with the St. Joseph Guitars group, which will be doing the song Sunday afternoon.
The poem to be done on Sunday is “In a Stable,” written and read by Victoria Riley, who is a member of the local poets group First United Coven of Greene County.
The festival, which will be held at the St. Joseph parish center and church, starts at noon on Sunday with a soup luncheon that continues until 1:30 pm. A display of about 100 Nativity sets, most of which are on loan from local families and collectors, will also open at noon in the parish center. There will be opportunities for free will offerings, with all proceeds going to Habitat projects in the county. At 1:30 pm, there will be a live auction for 15 pies by most of the best bakers in the county, with auctioneer Dale Higgins and “spotter” Teresa Mobley presiding.
At 2 pm organist Rhena Lane will begin playing seasonal gathering music in St. Joseph church.
The actual concert begins at 2:30 pm in the church and features, in order, the St. Joseph parish choir; a medley by Jefferson’s Curt Nelson family with friend Dave Harding of West Des Moines; the adult choir of Central Christian Church; poet Riley; the chancel choir of the First United Methodist Church doing excerpts from its upcoming Christmas cantata; the St. Joseph Guitars, and the “Joyful Noise” women’s choir of the First Presbyterian Church.
Sunday’s concert is free, although there will again be an opportunity to contribute to Habitat for Humanity. It is expected to conclude about 3:45 pm, with organist Lane performing while the crowd is leaving.
The theme of the Habitat-benefitting Nativity Festival, which was held for the first time last year at the First United Methodist Church, is “Everyone deserves a stable home.”
More Nativities are needed for display at the parish center, and people who would like to have their sets featured can contact Kathy Walker at 515-386-3945 daytime or 386-8259 evenings.
