The Beardless King

The Beardless King

MUSIC AND WORSHIP

BY CRAIG LAIRD

Back in the late ‘70s, I had volunteered to sing the role of King Gaspard in the annual Christmas pageant, as I had done many times before. Three performances were scheduled for that Sunday: 9:15am, 2pm, and 4pm; I would be singing during the 9:15 performance. I preferred singing in the morning so I could get the anxiety-producing task over with and be able to breathe easily for the rest of the day. Two days before the performances were to take place, Morgan Ruth, short a king, called and asked me to sing at the 2pm show, as well. I reluctantly agreed, although it meant prolonging my jitters for another five hours.

The 9:15 and 2:00 shows went off without a hitch. I remembered the lyrics, I avoided stepping in the sheep poop, and I didn’t faint despite the heavy costume and the hot lamps. In between the performances, I went home and had lunch; I was surprised at how much food got stuck in my beard—how do men who have beards manage to keep them clean? I wondered.

After the 2:00 performance, I went home and shaved off my fake beard. Then the phone rang: it was Morgan Ruth again, short another king. One of the kings had come

down with the flu and couldn’t sing. Morgan was desperate. “Craig, you gotta do this!” It was now 3:55pm, and I lived 20 minutes away from the church. I hopped in my car and headed for the church. Unfortunately, my right rear tire had a slow leak and the tire was almost flat. I prayed that the rim would not shred the tire before I could get to the gas station. The good Lord must have heard my prayer, because I was able to get to the station with just enough air in the tire to avoid catastrophe.

When I got to the church, Morgan was waiting on the front steps of the chapel with my costume in his arms. “You’re on,” he shouted. “Get in there and sing!” I threw the costume on and ducked inside the Narthex. There was no time to grow another beard. The other two kings were waiting for me. The organist had been vamping for several minutes, and the people in the pews were beginning to wonder what was going on. Where were the kings? Ah, here they were, at last!

“Born a king on Bethlehem’s plain...Gold I bring to crown him again. . . .”

St. David's Christmas Pageant. Sunday, December 19 at 11:30am and 3pm and Monday, December 20 at 7pm. Chapel and Livestream.

MUSIC HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SEASON

Visit our website for more details on these events, or get into the season by watching last year’s services on our YouTube Channel:

YouTube.com/StDavidsEpiscopalChurchRadnor/

Choral Evensong for All Saints Day, Sunday, November 7 at 5:00 pm. Chapel and Livestream.

Handel's Messiah Concert. Sunday, December 5 at 3:00pm. Chapel and Livestream.

A Service of Lessons and Carols. Sunday, December 12 at 5:00pm. Chapel and Livestream.

www.stdavidschurch.org/music/