Lakeland Baptist Church holds Live Nativity

Lakeland Baptist Church hosted its annual Live Nativity Dec. 17 and 18. Destiny Thompson and Paul Starkweather hold baby Jesus as onlookers observe and ponder the true meaning of Christmas . (photos by Kate Collins. More photos on page 2.)

By Kate Collins
IRON RIVER – Lakeland Baptist Church held its 11th annual live nativity Dec. 17 and 18 on church grounds, with more than a dozen volunteers in period dress reenacting scenes surrounding the birth of Jesus Christ as described in the Gospel of Luke.
    “We just hope that people keep Christ in Christmas,” said Joann Starkweather, church member. “We want people to remember to keep Him at the center. We are busy this time of year, and Bethlehem in those days was no different.”
    The village scenes included a bakery, a basket vendor cart, a blacksmith shop, a shepherds’ bonfire and the community stable. Animals that would typically be found in a Bible-times hamlet, such as sheep and donkeys, were present in the stable, as well as dogs pretending to tend sheep with men acting as shepherds.
    “Some people make this part of their yearly Christmas tradition,” Starkweather added.
    An average of 100 visitors attends the live nativity each of the two evenings that it is portrayed. 
Guests were welcomed to the bakery tent, where free pastries and hot drinks were offered. The narrated tableau was about 20 minutes in length. Visitors were then given the chance to talk with the reenactors and pet the animals.