Wesley United Methodist Church (UMC), 40 W. Main St., Strasburg, will host a holiday bazaar and cookie sale on Saturday, Dec. 3, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Members of the congregation will sell various Christmas items such as decorations and ornaments during the free-to-attend event. The bazaar is a new addition to Wesley UMC's tradition of holding a yearly cookie sale.

"We were cleaning out decorations from storage at the church and the idea blossomed from there," said Kay Graybill, an organizer of the event. Church members will sell a variety of homemade cookies during the bazaar, including the community favorite sand tarts. Last year, the vendors sold out of cookies within a few hours.

Wesley UMC also announced that its Christmas pageant will return this year, after a six-year hiatus. The pageant will be held on Friday, Dec. 9, and Saturday, Dec. 10, at 7:30 p.m. and on Sunday, Dec. 11, at 4:30 p.m. The pageant will include a live, indoor re-enactment of the Nativity and will be accompanied by narration and music.

Members of the congregation of varying ages will play the roles of angels, shepherds, village children, King Herod and the Holy Family. "We're very excited to welcome it back," said Graybill. "I always loved the tradition of it. When I was a little girl, I was in the pageant. Now my granddaughters and grandsons will be in it."

The tradition of the Christmas pageant was started in 1955, and it continued until 2017, as the church no longer had enough children to participate. A key factor in the decision to halt the re-enactment was the church's inability to cast an infant in the role of baby Jesus. Children who had played Jesus and other roles in recent years were too old to play the same parts, and the church did not have enough young families still active in the congregation. Wesley UMC's plans to bring the pageant back last year were thwarted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, the church has enough young members to bring the pageant back.

For many in the community, the pageant marks the beginning of their holiday season, and news of its return was met with a wave of excitement. "It's always been a part of everyone's holiday, and we look forward to working on it together as a group again," said Graybill.