This Christmas chancel drama, used by itself or incorporated into a worship service, uses seven speaking parts (from children to adults) and takes about 30-35 minutes to perform. It is designed as a readers’ theater so that little rehearsal is needed. Included is a closing litany for the minister and congregation which provides a gripping conclusion to the drama of Christ’s birth. Copying privileges are also included. The action takes place in the home of a middle-class Jewish family in Bethlehem at the time of the birth of Christ. The father is a rabbi, the mother one who helps out in almost any needy situation, the daughter a dream-struck adolescent and the son a rebellious young adult.

The dialogue builds to the point at which the daughter returns struck by heaven’s light, which she calls a miracle. Her mother explains to her (and the congregation) that the real miracle is Jesus, who on that holy night was born, one of us.

Marion Fairman holds a masters degree in English from Miami University of Ohio and a Ph.D. in English and American Literature from the University of Pittsburgh. She has taught literature and writing at Miami of Ohio, Westminster College, and the University of Pittsburgh. For ten years she taught and wrote curriculum for The Writing Academy. She currently resides in the North Hills section of Pittsburgh with her husband.