WHATELY — The Whately Congregational Church will hold its Living Nativity this year on Sunday, Dec. 18 at 3 p.m.
According to Rev. Cynthia Crosson-Harrington, the church’s pastor, the annual Christmas event began in the mid-90s, and features live animals including “chickens, oxen, alpaca, and goats.”
“It’s a wonderful reenactment of the Nativity, done by both adults and children,” she said, adding that because “it’s outside in our historic carriage shed … people are encouraged to dress warmly.” The carriage shed is next to the church’s parking lot.
Crosson-Harrington came to the church in 2007. Since then, she’s narrated the Nativity scene while actors play the parts of the Wise Men, shepherd, Mary, Joseph and angels. There will also be Christmas songs interspersed throughout the roughly 30-minute event. Attendees are invited to sing.
After, there will be refreshments inside the church.
In the midst of the business of the holiday season, Crosson-Harrington said, the event is a good chance for people to pause and remember what it celebrates
“There’s so much hype around Christmas,” she continued. “This really gives one an opportunity to think about, the cliche, reason for the season. If one really thinks about that first night, and the impact it’s had on the world, it can be a really powerful experience.”
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