PETERSBURG — Rows of folding seats set up on the grass outside the Wesley United Methodist Church in Petersburg began to fill up a little before 6 p.m. on Sunday’s cold, crisp and clear evening.
Two camels and a miniature Scottish Highland long haired cow munched hay as other barnyard animals roamed around in a small pen enclosing a wooden manger. As the appointed hour neared, the seats not only filled, but crowds kept making their way to the outdoor, makeshift theater, many with bundled-up children in tow.
The audience sat or stood facing the manger, above which was a wooden north star with bulbs that lit up at key moments of the church’s Living Nativity Pageant acting out the Christmas story of the birth of Jesus.
“I am here because it’s the reason for the season — Jesus’ birth,” said Cheryle Eisele of Petersburg, who portrayed the head angel in the pageant. “We can’t just do presents and stuff. We have to really practice the reason for the season.”
“It’s just an uplifting experience. The kids are here, the crowd is here, the animals are here. It just makes everybody happy, so that makes us happy,” she said.
Eisele has been taking part in the Living Nativity “for years. Whenever it started, in some capacity I’ve been here. Most of us have.”
“To be able to do this and bring the meaning of Christmas means a lot,” said Tom Fisher, pastor of Leesburg and Delmont churches, and the former pastor of Wesley United, where he served for 17 years.
“I still come back here to help,” he added.
The pageant, Fisher said, is “especially for the children to experience what the season is all about. It’s more than exchanging gifts and that kind of thing. This is the reason for the season. That’s why we’re here.”
With musicians and a narrator hidden behind partitions off to the side, the stage was the earth beneath the trees, whose bare limbs were illuminated as they reached high into the dark night. Amateur actors played the roles in the Christmas story — Mary and Joseph, Romans, the angels, shepherds, innkeepers and three kings who brought gold, frankincense and myrrh to the Christ child in swaddling clothes in the manger.
It was a sweet performance, after which the families enjoyed cookies and hot chocolate as they viewed the scene and the animals close up and were able to take their own pictures.
Fisher portrayed one of the kings, as did Greg Kircher of Woodbine, who was doing his first performance in the pageant.
“It reminds you of what we’re celebrating, the birth of Christ,” he said. “That is why I’m participating.”
Christopher Tinari of Petersburg, portraying Joseph, said he was “just so blessed to be here. I am part of this church. I can’t say enough about Pastor Bob (Costello). He is a true pastor who has the Holy Spirit in him and I’m proud to be part of this church.”
“I think this is the true meaning of Christmas and this should be shown. And I’m glad it is being shown,” Tinari said. “It’s all about Christ. It’s all about Jesus. He is first and always will be first.
In the true joy is putting Jesus first. You have the J for joy, the O for others — you put others before yourself, which is the Y — which is yourself. This is a joyful moment.”
Holly Crain of Petersburg was a shepherd in the pageant.
“This is a tradition we have done for maybe 40 years or more. Both of my children are involved and my grandchildren and my nieces,” she said. “It’s just a wonderful way for us to celebrate the birth of Jesus.”
Crain has performed in the pageant many times before and enjoys it every year.
“Even when it snows we had fun,” she said with a laugh. “We’re so blessed. They bring the animals, so it’s really like the original birth of Jesus with the live animals in the stable.”
Nick Santana and his family were responsible for the animals. They run Barnyard Friends in Mays Landing, a group that travels with its animals for educational purposes.
“We’re probably one of the only licensed camel companies in the state of New Jersey,” he said.
Barnyard Friends has been keeping camels for a dozen years.
“In order to show the camels, we do educational events with the nativity scenes and we also go to schools. Everything is educational,” Santana said. “We bring the petting farm and offer a camel encounter where we talk about camels and teach about camels.”
The little children watching the pageant — including the two dressed as sheep in the show — all seemed to enjoy the animals.
The pageant, Crain said, “helps with people who don’t know about Jesus. We’re trying to spread the word. (The pageant) is a more realistic activity that people can enjoy.”
By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
