NATCHEZ &045; Rather than focus just on the meaning of Christmas or on the memories of holiday season past, First Baptist Church has decided to focus on both at once with this year’s Christmas pageant.

&uot;The Wonder of Christmas,&uot; a 90-minute presentation involving more than 150 church members of all ages, will be held at 6 p.m. Dec. 14 and 15 in the church’s sanctuary.

The presentation will actually have three parts, said Minister of Music Chris Turner.

&uot;The first part will focus on Christmas in the 1940s, the golden age of radio, with music in the style of the big band era as well as with drama&uot; Turner said.

&uot;With Tom Brokaw’s ‘The Greatest Generation,’ there’s a lot of focus on that time right now.&uot;

The second part, with Christmas carols and narration by the church’s youth choir, will explain the meanings behind the symbols and colors that of the season.

And the third act will be a more traditional telling of the Christmas story itself, complete with drama and music from choirs and a full orchestra.

&uot;The goal was to involve as many aspects of our church as possible&uot; in the production, Turner said.

The program has taken about nine months to plan, with rehearsals taking place since August.

The music itself is not a prepackaged Christmas program &045; instead, church members themselves picked different music, assembling the program themselves as they &uot;felt God leading us that direction,&uot; Turner said.

&uot;It’s a potpourri of music,&uot; he said. &uot;We wanted something that would be upbeat and would help people recall Christmases past.

&uot;And as a church, of course, we always want to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Š so this gives us an opportunity to share that story as well.&uot;

Tickets are still available for both nights and are free to the public. For tickets or more information, call the church at 442-1464.