BELTON, Texas—Thousands of people turned out to see the reenactment of the crucifixion of Christ at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor’s 84th annual Easter Pageant on April 5 in front of Luther Memorial.
The student-led tradition chronicles moments from the Gospel story, including Christ’s triumphal entrance into Jerusalem, the Last Supper, Christ’s trial by Pontius Pilate, crucifixion, death, and resurrection.
The planning and production involved more than 350 students, children, and grandchildren of faculty and staff. This year’s three performances drew thousands of people to campus and thousands more worldwide viewed via live stream. The video is still available to view on the UMHB Facebook page and at umhb.edu/live.
Each year, UMHB President Dr. Randy O’Rear selects a student to direct the pageant and two students to play the key roles of Jesus and Mary. The students who fulfill the two key roles are chosen based on their strong Christian faith and character.
“I’m so thankful to UMHB because they don’t pick people for this role based on their theater background or other skills of that nature,” said Nicholas McDaniel, a senior management major who portrayed Jesus. “They purely pick based on character and who they feel will best represent the university. I’m very honored that they thought that to be me.”
Katy Melton, a junior Spanish and social work major, served as this year’s pageant’s director. Lexy Bardin and Ange Rugira have served as Melton’s assistant directors. Bardin is a senior health science major from Caldwell, and Rugira is a senior general studies major from Fort Worth.
Senior transformational development major Ruth Lawson, who played Mary this year, said, “It’s not Nick’s show or Katy’s show – it’s the Lord’s show, and we get to be vessels for Him moving. We get to do it together.”
The tradition of the annual Easter Pageant at UMHB began in 1940 when it was held during the afternoon on Easter Sunday. At that time, Mary Hardin-Baylor was an all-female campus, so all of the roles were played entirely by women. Over time, the production expanded to include male students and additional performances.
