CHURCH HISTORY
IMPRESSIVE PAGEANT SUNDAY SCHOOLS' PRODUCTION r The coming of Christianity to England and the work of the founders of the Church there were enacted in tableau at tho Town Hall last night when "Avalon," a pageant of early Church history, was presented in celebration of the Auckland Diocesan Sunday School festival. A good attendance was welcomed by Archbishop Averill, who referred to the good' work done by all connected with the pageant. An undertaking of this kind, besides being something unusual as a festival, interested the children and at the same time educated them.
The pageant was divided into eight periods, each of two or more scenes, and in each period some phase in the coming of the Gospel to England was represented. Scenes were taken by the parishes of All Saints', St. Luke's, St. Columba, St. Andrew's, Ellerslie, St. Mark's, St. Aidan's, St. Thomas', St. Paul's, St. Mary's and St. Matthew's. The value of the pageant in instilling a realisation of the trials of the early years of the Church in England and the fine example to subsequent ages of the devoted men and women responsible for its growth was shown by the impressive and reverent manner in which the scenes were acted by the children taking part, while some fine voices were revealed among the elder players entrusted with speaking parts. • The episodes represented were the Glastonbury legend of the arrival of St. Joseph in A.D., 56, St. Alban's martyrdom, St. Columba and the island of lona, the coming of St. Augustine, St. Oswald's battle at Heavenfield, St. Aidan's mission, the inspiration of Caedmon and the work of St. Cuthbert. Each scene was presented in the costume of the period and some striking tableaux were created, the effect being heightened in several cases by the lighting and softly-played organ music. In spite of simple settings, the spirit of the early workers for the Church in England was well captured by the young players, and the manner of presentation reflected credit on those responsible.
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Bibliographic details
New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22543, 7 October 1936, Page 16
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337CHURCH HISTORY New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22543, 7 October 1936, Page 16
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