Doris Palecyzny brought her children and 11 grandchildren to the Christmas pageant at Kitchener’s Bethany Church every year.

This season, she will have to find a new family tradition, and she’s not the only one.

The performance usually draws crowds of 12 to 15 thousand people from all across the province. But, the church’s ministry council has decided to cancel the pageant this Christmas.

“With all good things, sometimes they need to come to an end,” said ministry council chair Dan Reese.

Reese says the pageant, put on in the church parking lot, requires an extreme amount of organization, time and dedication.

Hundreds of volunteers help out with the production but the main co-ordinator was not able to commit this year.

“The Lord, we feel, is directing us and leading us and guiding us into something new and different,” said Reese.

Bethany Church said they want to develop more personal relationships with member of the community and work on outreach projects moving forward.

They haven’t ruled out the idea of bringing the pageant back for another holiday season.