PETERSBURG — The Christmas Story will come alive at 6 p.m. Dec. 21 on the grounds of Wesley United Methodist Church in Petersburg again this year.
Participants will travel along on a journey to Bethlehem to see the shepherds in the field tending their sheep alongside a fire to keep warm, follow the star above the stable featuring the manger scene complete with live animals and take pictures with family as they celebrate the birth of Jesus, what church trustee Janice Lake Betts calls “the real reason for the season.”
“We want them to focus not on gifts and presents and the commercial aspects but to focus on the real reason for the season, and to take that time to do that,” Betts said.
Participants can end the night with homemade cookies and hot chocolate. All activities are free and open to the community.
Betts said a group of about 40 volunteers, both children and adults, take part in the production, which lasts about an hour.
“It tells the Christmas Story through music and drama,” Betts said. “We act out various scenes, from the angel’s announcement to Mary through the birth of Jesus and the Wise Men coming.”
Live music will entertain the crowd during scene changes.
“When we sing ‘Silent Night,’ it’s really nice,” Betts said.
Betts said the tradition is about 20 years old.
“When we first started doing this my kids were young; now they have their own kids,” she said.
Likewise for local families and congregants.
“It’s been a really nice tradition at our church,” Betts said.
A highlight of the evening is the about two dozen live animals, which will include cows, sheep and a camel or two.
Betts said children can interact with the animals after the program.
The church always holds the event on the third Sunday in December, but the weather does not always cooperate. While the production is held outside weather-permitting, Betts said one year they did hold it inside the church. The camel stayed outside but a miniature horse was allowed in the chapel, where it unfortunately heeded the call of nature.
The festive event continues to draw a crowd, even after two decades.
“It keeps increasing. We keep getting more and more people,” Betts said. “It’s one of our favorite things we do to reach out to the community.”
Call (609) 628-2224 for more information on Wesley United Methodist Church.
– STORY by CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
– PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff