Noel Stanley, as Joseph and Niamh Hogan, as Mary, rehearsingfor the pageant at St. Mary's of the Rosary Church.

Nenagh Pageant on Refugee Crisis

A NENAGH church pageant on the Holy Family's flight into Egypt aims to raise funds and awareness of the refugee crisis taking place around the world.

The Nenagh Players will be joined by international Christian music singer David Parkes at the Church of St Mary of the Rosary on Sunday February 14th. Drawing parallels with the story of Joseph and Mary's escape from King Herod with the infant Jesus, the event serves to highlight the ongoing plight of migrants and refugees, particularly those fleeing Syria at the present time.

Father Des Hillery PP says the flight into Egypt has been retold in every generation of human history over the last 2,000 years. But nowadays we are much more aware of the mass movements of suffering people thanks to advancement of communications and new media.

The upcoming event at St Mary's coincides with the first weekend in Lent, the theme of which this year is mercy. Pope Francis, who visited newly arrived migrants on the Italian island of Lampedusa in 2013, is very sensitive to the refugee situation and has stated his wish for Christians to be merciful in the face of this crisis.

Lent is a time of reflection, and Fr Hillery suggests we should use this time to reflect on the situation facing refugees and what we can do about it. He points out that the refugee crisis is a serious problem around the world and especially in Europe, even if the international media spotlight has turned elsewhere.

'Trócaire', which invokes thoughts of compassion and mercy, will be discussed at all Masses over the weekend. The Sunday night event at St Mary's will add to that with the Nenagh Players' modern take on the Holy Family's flight into Egypt. Fr Hillery says the Players will depict the event at a deeper level, exploring what it means for people to leave everything they have and flee. He adds that the the music of Dublin born missionary David Parkes is also very reflective and will blend into the theme.

Fr Hillery speaks also of how local schools and the community at large have welcomed people of diverse backgrounds, and how they have successfully integrated into Nenagh life. There is a common humanity at work locally and perhaps, he says, this can be extended to those fleeing persecution in Syria.

Local man Willie Keane came up with the idea of this event to show solidarity with refugees worldwide. He points out that nowadays we also have environmental refugees, people displaced by rising water levels and other problems attributed to global warming. But the key focus of the upcoming event in Nenagh is Syria.

“This present refugee crisis is fast becoming one of the greatest in world history,” Mr Keane says. “In Syria today there are over 7.6 million displaced people, roaming from town to town, looking for safety inside the country, with many people starving to death. There are also over 4.2 million Syrian refugees trapped in refugee camps in dire, grim living conditions in neighbouring countries.”

The short pageant and evening of prayer through song with David Parkes will commence at 7.30pm. The Nenagh Players will perform the pageant with Niamn Hogan as Mary and Noel Stanley as Joseph. Proceeds of the evening will go to Trócaire in aid of Syrian refugees. There will be a free draw on the night for a trip to Medjugorje sponsored by Marian Pilgrimages. Tickets cost €10 and are available at the Nenagh Parish Office, Joe Starr's shop on Mitchel St, and JKC's shop on Pearse St.