INNISFAIL – The sounds of Christmas rang out during the annual Inter-Church Christmas Musical at the Church of the Nazarene.
Hundreds of visitors and concertgoers packed the church for two performances on Dec. 9 and 10.
This year's musical entitled Sing Gloria included about 10 musical numbers, both vocal and instrumental selections.
“It's Christmas time. We want our town to know that we are celebrating Christ's birthday,” said choir director Kathy Knopp. “We want to display the true meaning of Christmas.”
Every year, the event is sponsored by the Church of the Nazarene in Innisfail, said Knopp. But more than a dozen churches and about 70 singers from Innisfail and area join together for the musical production, including those from Sylvan Lake, Caroline, Olds and Innisfail.
“We have a range of musical styles (in the concert). From acappella to guitar, to a bit of jazz and traditional,” she said.
During the performance, the choir took up a monetary offering for the Innisfail and District Food Bank but visitors were welcome to drop off non-perishable food items as well.
In addition to the different styles of music, concertgoers also had an opportunity to join in with the choir and sing some traditional Christmas favourites.
“We're going to have a carol sing as well. Just a few carols for the congregation to sing with us,” said Knopp, noting classic Christmas hymns such as O Holy Night and Angels From the Realms of Glory.
“There'll be some songs people know and some they don't know, that are new.”
The annual Inter-Church Christmas Musical requires several weeks of planning and preparing, explained Knopp.
“We started in the middle of September and we've practised every week, once a week up until (Saturday),” she said, noting the event has always been well attended and has been a regular performance every December for the last three or four years.
“It's so much fun to have people from different churches come and sing together,” said Knopp, pointing to new friendships and the sharing of the Christmas spirit.
“We have a lot of fun and we're worshiping at the same time,” she added. “We want to make sure our community knows what we're about and we want to support our community.”
Kathy Knopp, choir director
"It's Christmas time. We want our town to know that we are celebrating Christ's birthday."
