The Christmas season is arriving and as people plan out their busy schedules, some will want to make sure to add the Selma Choral Society’s performance of “The Messiah” to the top of their list.

The 67th presentation of “The Messiah” will be Sunday, Dec. 7 at 3 p.m. at Cornerstone Presbyterian Church.

“It’s a really popular piece that is often done during the holiday times,” said Dr. Gery Anderson, president of the choral society. “It’s a musical story of the life of Christ.”

The Messiah is an oratorio composed by George Fredric Handel in 1742 and is separated into three different sections.

The first part is set up to be the birth of Christ, and the second is a representation of the passion of Christ.

The final section represents the return and the reign of Christ.

“Two years ago, we did the first part. Last year we did part two, and this year we’re doing part three,” said Anderson. “That’s the first time that we’ve ever done all three parts consecutively like that.”

Although the focus will be on part three, Anderson said the choral will be incorporating parts from one and two into the performance.

The choral society is a group of people from all over the community who come together to sing.

“The Selma Choral Society is made up of people from all over the community from all different churches. It’s just a wonderful, wonderful group,” Anderson said. “It’s people from all different stripes and walks of the community [that] come together because of their love of singing. That’s the fun part.”

Anderson said the group enjoys performing the popular classical piece.

“We always seem to enjoy this kind of music,” Anderson said. “Classical music like Handel is not often done today, and it’s nice that we still keep it alive and offer it to our community. It’s just a wonderful gift that we give the community.”