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CHRISTMAS EVENTS
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Living Nativity 2006
December 17, 2006
6 to 8 PM

Living Nativity: 2006 Report

What a year! Record breaking warm temperatures…it was almost 60 degrees when we were setting up the scenes on Sunday afternoon. I can never remember a year when no one needed to wear gloves or hats…we even had one of our cast members not want to go back outside because she was too hot!

Here are some of the highlights from 2006:

• Chris Jackson build a new manger scene for us and it was topped with a Bethlehem star…….so beautiful! Thank you Chris.

• Patti Logan reconstructed some of the Wise Men’s costumes. They can be dated back to the 1950’s or maybe earlier and were originally constructed at a professional costume company. Even if our costumes are only used once a year, they are given tender loving care from Patti and a Pat Camp who helped with the cleaning and mending.

• We had two requests from other churches to borrow our lights and our manger scene. Jerry Stec (who is an angel in disguise and a real nice guy) and Milo Bishop helped a church in Sylvania to borrow our lights for their Living Nativity. It is quiet an undertaking, because they weigh about two tons and need special transport…..so we learned the we will not be doing that again.

• Remember that I said that it was warm? Well, we had our first skateboarder come through our drive through Living Nativity. We also had three different families walk through the scenes.

• We had sixteen high school volunteers from the Perrysburg YMCA Leaders Club as cast members. They were great! Filled with enthusiasm, the holiday spirit, good attitudes and willing to take whatever parts were available. One of the wise men Y guys was funny. He took donut holes out in the box holding the gift for Jesus…he wanted a snack to make the time pass when the cars were not coming by. I also understand that he was text messaging to his parents to come visit the Living Nativity – when no cars were around of course.

• Fox news came for a visit and we were on “First at 10.” It was warm outside and the reporter did not even have on a jacket.

• We had more extended family members participating than ever…Pat and Mike Smith, and Pat and Dan Camp all had grandchildren there and family members in attendance. I am sorry if I forgot someone. (They were visitors, not our regular grandchildren like Casey and Morgan, Shannon, Lauren, and Liz, McKenzie, Austin, Lindsay and Travis.)

• We had a new indoor scene. Gigi Mawer coordinated a Christmas Party for Jesus at the North Pole. Santa and Mrs. Clause attended. Once our little ones realized the “The Man” was inside, they hung up their shepherd and angel costumes to spend some time with Santa and “The Misses.” I heard that Josephine was asking him if he went Trick or Treating!

• You can’t accuse our church of teaching gender bias…we had our little guys wanting to be angels and the girls in roles as shepherds.

• A special thank you to Wanda Leslie for acting as kitchen coordinator and all of the volunteers who brought food and helped in the kitchen. Thank you to whoever brought the frosted cuts outs, those are my favorites! We have an abundance of hot chocolate left over….remember that I said that is was warm outside? I

• I would like to mention the music that flowed through the air….we had a variety of Christmas songs playing to entertain cast members while the struck their posses. Many thank to BigHouse DJ Services for donating their services inside and out.

• Typically, getting hay for the scenes is one of my least favorite jobs of coordinating Nativity. It was easy this year. The Weavers donated their straw from the Barn Jam and several other church members brought their hay/straw from their fall outdoor decorations. Recycling is a good thing.

• We almost had an animal crisis…Mrs. Doris was waiting for the sheep to arrive at a rendezvous, but they did not show…so she came alone with a lama and two donkeys. I think that the lama fell in love with our camel…they stood face to face most of the evening…totally enamored with each other. I saw them making goo-goo-ley eyes at each other.

• You say Living Nativity…we are glad that Ms. Doris brought along a shovel for to clean up from Billy (our donkey) from scene two. Yuck!

• The outdoor crew took three hours to put up the sets..and only 45 minutes to take them down. Ralph Pearsall, thank you for coordinating the outdoor crew! Thank you men for your hard work! (We do practice gender bias in our outdoor work.)

• Casey Edwards earned eight community service hours for assisting with the set set-up, and being a cast member.

• Carol Clark was busy working the Nativity on her birthday. Carol, Patti and I are so grateful for the youthful leg (Alex, Alex, Laura, Aimee, Shannon, and Rick Bayer) that carried all of the costumes, wings and animals back upstairs after the Living Nativity was over. For those of you how have never been upstairs…..you can test the age of your knees just by taking one round on the steps.

• Thank you to all who showed up to help outside, in the kitchen, with promotion, prayer and leadership. We had a good crew, and I am not sure that everyone who attended had a job to do, because we had such so many volunteers there to assist, but we appreciate your support and hope that you enjoyed your time.

• Thank you to Krista Pelland for preparing our promotional materials, the recruiting flyer and the program. She makes my job easy!

• By the way…we had 150 cars drive through…and that would mean that we were able to share the birth of Jesus with at least 450 different people! That is cool.

Remember that I said that it was warm outside? I attribute that warmth to the gift that God sent us through his baby Christ child. It is the light of Christ that keeps us warm. May his love, grace and peace fill your live with warmth, today and throughout the year!

Please put the date on your calendar for 2007…Living Nativity will be on Dec. 16.

See you at the manger.

Becky Spencer Living Nativity Small Group Leader