Time travel might be for the movies, but this holiday season, many churches are offering something very close - an opportunity to step back through time with a living Nativity scene or a walk through Bethlehem.
Calvary Baptist Church in Winter Haven is presenting Bethlehem Marketplace for its fifth year, offering visitors a walk-through dramatic presentation portraying an actual marketplace in first-century Bethlehem.
According to Steve Revell, the worship and music minister at Calvary Baptist, a great deal of preparation goes into the three-day December event. He says that more than 300 people are involved in some aspect of the presentation, including 750 hours of volunteer work for construction, along with costuming, greeting, parking and performing.
"We've researched how a marketplace would be ... and what it was like to go to a first-century flea market," Revell says. "We researched costuming, Nativity setting and the way each of booths would be constructed and decorated."
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A young Mallory King plays with a basket in the basketmakers booth at the Bethlehem Marketplace Friday evening.
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Revell says that when visitors arrive, they are assisted by parking attendants and then met by a greeting team in the sanctuary, where they can see a pre-show concert. Groups of people are then escorted into the village, much like a tour group, and given registration visas they will turn in to a census taker. The actual walk-through includes close to 120 cast members and lasts 20 to 30 minutes. It culminates with a living Nativity, then a meet-and-greet reception in the fellowship hall.
"It's our way of offering a live Christmas card to the community," Revell says. "It's interactive. They can see what items are being sold and actually talk with people. Each cast member enjoys being able to wish people a merry Christmas by acting out the character, whether they are selling baskets, fish, grapes or musical instruments. People enjoy it."
Another local live presentation in Winter Haven is offered by Beymer Memorial United Methodist Church, which has been offering an annual living Nativity for the past 25 years.
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Rafael Vergara, left, Connor Bailey and Trevor Bailey listen as the "Rabbi" Ryan Bailey reads from the Torah Friday evening at the Bethlehem Marketplace.
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"Our program is still very basic," says pastor Robert Cox, minister for children and youth at Beymer. "We have a stable set up with Mary and Joseph with baby, wisemen, and shepherds. It has a long history with the church, and we have adults now who remember being part of the living Nativity as teenagers. The kids really look forward to it - being part of something they know will happen and the congregation supports."
Cox says the silent tableau presentation is offered for visitors who can either ride by or park and stand nearby to observe in contemplation or meditation. The cast does not speak, but there are angels offering gifts, and the shepherds and Wise Men walk around the church and come back to the stable to add live action to the scene.
According to Cox, even though the event is designed to be simple, there is a lot of coordination. At least 15 youth members are involved in the three-night event, in addition to many adults who help with costuming, the stable and other areas. Last year, a lot of time went into designing brand-new costumes that are being used again.
Something new this year is a fundraiser that resulted from last year's program. Cox says a photographer took a photograph of the cast members as they were performing and it was used to create a Christmas card. The youth members of the church are now selling the Christmas cards to raise money for missions and trips they will take next summer.
To finish out the program at Beymer each year, Cox says that on Christmas Eve, after the service has finished, the entire congregation will exit the church to spend some time watching the Nativity.
"It's a meditative type thing," Cox says. "They gather and watch, and will quietly leave when they are ready."
The program at Calvary Baptist is scheduled for Dec. 11-13, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The church is at 2101 Overlook Drive in Winter Haven. Additional information is available at www.mycalvarybaptist.com through the Bethlehem Marketplace link.
The program at Beymer Memorial United Methodist is scheduled for Dec. 22-25, from 7 to 9 p.m. daily. The church is at 700 N. Lake Howard Drive in Winter Haven. Additional information is available at www.beymer.org.
