The Story Synopsis

Nurse Constance Louise Chamberlin is a non-believer. She finds the Christmas season very annoying... especially the singing of carols. Her hospital administrator, Dr. Halifax, recognizes her situation and sends her away from the hospital to care for an old man whose family is gone for the holidays.

Upon meeting the old man, Uncle John, he immediately teases and annoys her by deciding to call her "Connie Lou" over her objections. Uncle John asks her to help him decorate the Christmas tree with his handmade ornaments - crafted in celebration of friends he has met throughout his life. He asks Connie Lou, "what's your Christmas carol?" Uncle John claims to have met many people in his lifetime and they all have a story and a carol. She tries to humor him as she takes notes suspecting dementia.

He recounts the story of the Innkeeper who turned away Mary, Joseph and their Child. The Innkeeper didn't let them in - it was a business decision - and yet all of us are invited to Let Him in. [The audience sees the Innkeeper sing as John recounts the story.] Connie Lou asks how he knows this story and carol. Uncle John says the Innkeeper told him personally. Now, Connie Lou is convinced he's crazy.

Going home that evening, Connie Lou has a flash-back. She remembers when her mother sent her away to school because they were losing their home. But she is snapped back to reality when she encounters some men living on the street. She listens to them sing Homeless -Like the Christ Child Was. Their carol reminds us that Jesus taught us "how to live", not where.

Back with Uncle John she finds him wearing old shepherd's robes and playing a flute - given to him, of course, by a shepherd who actually slept through the events surrounding the birth of Christ. Connie Lou questions whether there was really something for him to miss. John sings the carol The Shepherd - You Were Not There in Bethlehem which reminds us all that you don't have to always see with your own eyes to believe.

Nurse Chamberlin is beginning to be amused and even touched by Uncle John's stories and carols. But after another flash-back to her mother, she is reminded of the inadequacies of her personality - her confidence that was damaged by the circumstances of her home life. When Uncle John awakes from a nap he has a quill pen to put on the Christmas tree, given to him from someone who found his confidence in a dream. He says this someone was feeling inadequate when he was rejected as a singer after an audition for the choir. But the Lord came to him in a dream and said he would one day find "his voice, his God-given talent" - maybe where he didn't expect it. Uncle John leads the on-stage choir in Handel's Dream. Within this forgotten carol, Connie Lou recognizes musical excerpts from The Messiah. Yes, Uncle John knew him too!

Back at the hospital Connie Lou encounters another "unusual person" in the Maternity ward. This woman, Sarah, claims (and sings) that she is an expert with children because Mary Let Me Hold Her Baby. While confirming that this happened two thousand years ago, Sarah admits that she died many years ago- Connie Lou is now questioning her sanity.

Returning to take care of Uncle John, Connie Lou finds him reminiscing about Sarah, the love of his life who died, in The Dance. Could this be...? In consoling Uncle John, Connie Lou reveals that her dad died during the war before her birth. Uncle John recounts the story of a man he met who used to write songs for his children - even before their birth! One of those songs was about a carpenter named Joseph who said of his son, I Was Not His Father, He was Mine!

Connie Lou is beginning to realize that she has lost her way in life because there are "so many voices, so many choices" that pull at us each day. Uncle John reminds her that we all need to find our way -even the Three Kings needed the star to find their way. He sings (with assistance from the choir and a lead voice) the carol I Cannot Find My Way. Connie Lou is beginning to find her way to the Lord!

Just at this moment, the people arrive - they have come to arrest and take Uncle John away. They tell Connie Lou that he's a homeless man that has a record of breaking into homes and creating fanciful stories about himself. Left alone and confused, Connie Lou begins to gather up Uncle John's Tree Ornaments and belongings. She realizes this holiday is different for her because she feels "it's filled with His Love". And so she sings I Cry The Day I Take The Tree Down.

She decides to go to the Police Station to get Uncle John's release from jail because, no matter who he is, she feels he shouldn't be alone at Christmas. But upon her arrival...she finds he's gone. Someone named "Sarah" has taken him away.

Back at the hospital she tells Dr. Halifax that she is returning to work the rest of the holiday - in Maternity. He insists that she needs to take a break. She says no, because the Lord has given her all...of What I Need