A service for the senses

Christmas has a distinct sound and feel to it, said Kyle Zimmerman, the worship pastor at Mariners Church on Newport Coast Drive.

As holiday celebrations go, Mariners puts on a show worthy of Broadway.

There’s music — strings, horns, drums, and lot’s of them. There’s a full choir, and a forest of flocked trees glowing in moonlight. There’s a sky teeming with stars, maybe even the North Star. There is enough happening on stage to “embrace all that the season is,” Zimmerman said.

Mariners’ Christmas service extravaganza includes six productions staged during three days featuring a large orchestra, choir, and traditional Christmas carols the audience enthusiastically joins in singing.

For many people, Christmas may be the only time of year they attend church, and Zimmerman wants to be sure they feel welcome. To add some intimacy, huge projection screens are mounted in the sky behind the stage so that audience members can feel up close to the action, like watching Kobe Bryant sink a free throw on the monitor at Staples Center.

Song lyrics are projected on the screens for those who don’t know the words. Meanwhile, the drama unfolding on stage is The Greatest Story Ever Told and makes for pretty good theater.

“There are wonderful, beautiful, quiet moments, and we use visuals in different ways,” Zimmerman said.

While a full orchestra and choir, props and lighting effects are fundamental to the church’s Christmas celebration, Zimmerman insists telling the story of the birth of Jesus is what the season is really all about at Mariners.

“There is so much busyness and craziness in our lives.” Still, Zimmerman hopes that maybe, at least during the course of the service, people will get a sense of peace.

“Being able to say ‘I got Christmas,’ and all that it means, is the defining moment and the overall feeling people express to me after the service,” he said.

Shelly Juskiewicz is Mariners’ pastor of assimilation. Her job is to help everyone feel welcome, especially those whose pilgrimage to church happens only once a year.

“It’s a big church, but an intimate place,” Juskiewicz said. “It’s like having an open house for the family.”

WHAT: Mariners Church Christmas Services

WHEN: Saturday 5 p.m.; Sunday 5 and 7 p.m.; Monday 3, 5 and 7 p.m.

WHERE: 5001 Newport Coast Drive, Irvine

INFO: Call (949) 854-7600