Harmony’s live nativity slated for Dec. 12-14

Published 11:15 pm Thursday, December 4, 2014

Take a walk through Jesus’ beginnings in Bethlehem with a live nativity walk through.

The Harmony Baptist Church invites residents of any age to visit the fifth annual reenactment of Jesus’ birth and hear the stories of his beginning.

“This is something for everybody,” program leader Betty Chastain said. “Our first year we had about 89 people to walk through. Last year, we had more than 270 and our prayer is that this year we will have at least 400.”

Chastain said the event begins in the church sanctuary where people are given a real coin to pay taxes as Mary and Joseph did.

Individuals groups will then be led by guides to storytellers that reenact different parts of Jesus’ life, including entering into the city past Roman soldiers; paying the tax collector with the coin; mingling with the business owners and villagers; visiting the grouchy inn keeper; being visited by the angels as they tell the shepherds of Jesus’ birth; and seeing the shepherds rush to the birth of Jesus in the manger.

There will be live sheep, hay bales and fire, and returning for the fifth year, Baby Laurel the donkey.

Pastor Greg Cotter will tell the end of the story before groups are led to the Christian Life Center to enjoy refreshments of hot chocolate, cookies and coffee.

“We just want to represent what Bethlehem would have been like when Jesus was born,” Chastain said. “This teaches children what the beginning of the story was, and how Jesus came to be.

“It also shows them what the village was like in those days,” she said. “They watch the shepherds bow down to the baby Jesus and see how he was worshipped.”

The event is free and scheduled for Fri. through Sun., Dec. 12-14 from 6 to 8 p.m.