Grandma recruits

Glory Laird made her debut as baby Jesus this year thanks to a little conspiracy hatched between mom and grandma.

Grandma is Cindy Connor. She and her husband, Dennis, are key organizers in Faith Bible Chapel's elaborate and realistic walk through Bethlehem on the night Jesus was born - an event staged every year at the Arvada church complex.

"Last year, we said how much nicer it would be if we had a live baby," Cindy Connor said. "Then, lo and behold, in August . . . "

In August, Glory was born to the Connors' daughter, Deborah, and her husband, Chris, joining her 5-year-old brother, Jeremiah. For grandma, Glory's arrival made the central casting possibilities irresistible.

"Grandma called in her dues," Cindy Connor said.

And how did Jeremiah handle his little sister's fame?

"He thinks it's a hoot," said his grandma. During the pageant, Jeremiah kept wanting to break from his own role - playing an assistant in a nearby potter's shop - and head for the stable to say hi.

Said Cindy Connor: "He kept saying, 'We have to go back and see Baby Jesus - but we can't tell anybody that this year Baby Jesus is a girl!' "

A family tradition

Joel Vereen, 3 months old, got to play Baby Jesus on the steps of the Colorado Capitol because of a move by his parents.

His mom and dad, Carl and Ashley Vereen, set down roots in Colorado last year from Arizona and joined Grace Chapel in Englewood. They found out that Grace Chapel and other churches got a permit to stage a live Nativity scene in the heart of the public square last Saturday.

The family had already enjoyed appearing in Christmas pageants with their older kids, Skipper, 3, and Emma, 2. So, mom and dad volunteered as Mary and Joseph - with one caveat.

"I said, 'I'd like to keep Joel with me, so could he be Jesus, too?' " Ashley asked.

The organizers were thrilled.

But dad was a bit concerned.

The issue was the threat of a cold front moving in. Mom was finally able to convince her husband, using some language directly from what you could call the original script: Joel, she promised, would be bundled up "in a couple of layers of swaddling clothes."

'It's good to be involved in your religion'

Asiris Lozano is just 21/2 months old, but she already has set a record:She's the first in her family to play Baby Jesus.

"I think it's important," said her mom, Anita Lozano. "We're a religious family, and we've never been part of anything like that even when we were young. It's good to be involved in your religion."

Asiris made her debut last Saturday at the Christmas party held at Denver's Westside Christian Fellowship. It's held every year in partnership with West Bowles Community Church in Littleton.

Together, the churches put on a breakfast with Santa, followed by a toy giveaway and a children's concert by about 50 kids who attend the Westside Learning Center.

This year, the church wanted to add something new, said the Rev. Mark Lopez. So, as the children began to sing the old Christmas hymn, O Come, All Ye Faithful, the script called for them to crowd around Baby Jesus - played by Asiris Lozano - and Mary, played by Asiris' real-life mom.