Children celebrate holiday show

Six-year-old Joelle Strickland of Clovis played around Sunday at her church — riding on her daddy’s shoulders while visiting with friends of the First United Methodist Church’s Good Friday Passion Play Drama pizza party.

She was one of 18 children celebrating the gathering’s Easter play which was held on Friday at the church.

During the play, she had performed the role a villager.

“They were angry at Jesus,” Joelle said of the villagers.

Asked why she was supposed to be angry at Jesus, Joelle clasped her hands together and stammered.

“She had a hard time being angry at Jesus,” said Joe Strickland, her father.

Why?

“Cause I like Jesus and don’t hate him,” Joelle said.

Cas Velez, 22, the youth director of the First United Methodist Church, said children and youths from the first through 11th grades participated in the play.

The pizza party, she said, was in honor of Easter and the hard work the youths and gradeschoolers put into the play.

“We started at the scene of the last supper and went through the crucifixion of Christ,” she said of the play, which had 30 participants.

Commenting of her part in the play, Janie Belch, 13, said she played the part of Mary Magdalene.

“I spoke of my love for Jesus,” she said.

Stephanie Gordon, 12, was a narrator and disciple.

“I didn’t learn anything I didn’t already know,” she said. “I read the Bible.”

James and Robin Miller, of Texico, said two of their children, Kolten, 10, and Kyler, 9, were in the play.

Kyler and Kolten were busy celebrating Easter by shooting basketballs through hoops with children at the party, while their parents visited with other adults.

“Kolten was Peter and Kyler was part of the crowd,” Robin said. “It was a good play. I think it was good for the boys to do it, because they learned a lot about Easter.”