By Leslie Collins
Northeast News
December 21, 2011

A Godly man. A defender of the faith. That’s how Joey Condon describes Santa.

Although Santa’s gained a wife, some reindeer and elves along the way, it really started with one unpretentious man living in Lycia.

For 18 years and counting, Condon, pastor at Grace Church of the Nazarene in Northeast, has been telling the story of St. Nicholas. His quest to play old St. Nick began as a conundrum.

His wife had just given birth to a baby girl on Nov. 24 and his congregation in San Francisco wasn’t short on advice. One woman stopped Condon in the lobby, warning him not to teach his daughter about Santa Claus.

“You better not let that evil Santa Claus into your home. He’s Satan incarnate,” she told him.

The same Sunday another woman approached Condon and said a lot of pastor’s kids turn out rotten because the parents are too strict.

“Whatever you do, you best have Santa in your home,” she said.

This was a conundrum.

“I struggled with what to do,” Condon said.

So, he decided to research Santa Claus himself.

“I realized there is a legitimate, wonderful story to tell here,” Condon said.

Composing a one man show, he put his acting skills to use and first performed as Santa during a pastor’s banquet. Since then, he’s received numerous requests to perform and averages 20 performances a year. He’s given up on fake beards and wigs; Instead, he grows his own.

“I let my hair and beard start growing (long) about Memorial Day,” he said. “It drives my wife crazy around October because it’s wild and crazy.”

To play the part of Santa, he also bleaches his beard and hair white.

“It’s called dedication,” he laughed.

Over the years, Condon’s tweaked his presentation, adding more details and history about St. Nicholas.

The real St. Nicholas served as a pastor during the 4th Century and became the youngest bishop of Myra in Lycia, now part of modern day Turkey.

“He stood his ground, stood for principle and stood for the message of the gospel and defended it,” Condon said of St. Nicholas.

St. Nicholas loved children and he loved giving in secret, Condon said.

One story Condon told was of a family who couldn’t pay their bills. St. Nicholas used some of the church’s offering to help the family and late at night, he hurled a bag of gold through the family’s window. It then landed in a pair of socks a girl had hung up to dry. Another incident involved a man unable to provide a dowry for his three daughters. Without a dowry, the three daughters would never have the chance to marry. So, St. Nicholas dropped gold coins down the family’s chimney.

“So many of the things we do around the Christmas season can be traced directly back to Santa Claus,” he said. “It’s like his legacy and ministry are continuing.”

One of the reasons St. Nicholas gave in secret was to give all the glory to God, Condon said.

“One of the key things was you don’t need the personal glory or recognition,” he said. “All glory should go to God and that was so significant that it’s a message that’s resonated true for every generation for hundreds of years.”