“It is one thing to read the Christmas story and another to become part of it.”

Janet Mabie
Special to Spur Ottawa

The Christmas season has officially arrived. With the pressure to create the perfect holiday, the joy and wonder of this sacred celebration can sometimes be lost. Osgoode’s Trinity Bible Church is helping people renew that wonder and get in the Christmas spirit by hosting Bethlehem Live. The elaborate live Nativity lets those in attendance participate in the biblical account of the very first Christmas.

“We want to serve our community by telling the story in a way that engages people and makes it come alive,” says Frank Hallum, who organizes Bethlehem Live with his wife, Kathleen. “We want people who perhaps have never heard the story to understand how important it is to us and to them. How wonderful to know that Jesus came to give us life and hope.”

Bethlehem Live will be held on the grounds of Trinity Bible Church on Friday, November 30, from 6 to 8 p.m. and Saturday, December 1, from 5 to 8 p.m.

“We have a rather large property at the church [106 acres]. We thought this would be a way to use what God has given us to tell the story in a way that would let people become part of the story,” explains Hallum.

A lady sells fish in the market of Bethlehem. Photo courtesy of Trinity Bible Church.

Guests at the live Nativity become part of the large group of people heading to Bethlehem for the census. There is a lot to see and hear along the way: King Herod’s palace, wise men, shepherds, animals, and angels, as well as beggars, bandits, and Roman guards. The guests eventually arrive at a rowdy marketplace that leads to the stable with a baby in a manger, where a prophet explains the meaning of the baby’s birth.

“Travellers will get a chance to witness glorious and sometimes miraculous things on their trip to the ancient town,” states Trinity’s description of the event.

The 40-minute tour winds up within the church, where guests can enjoy refreshments, socialize, and reflect on the real meaning of Christmas.

This is Trinity Bible Church’s 15th year hosting Bethlehem Live—it began as a Christmas Eve event, in 2003.

“Kathleen’s brother’s church, in Ingersoll, was doing something very similar at the time.” Inspired by that event, Hallum says, “We proposed this to the elders as a way to reach out to our community.”

“We thought this would be a way to use what God has given us to tell the story.”

The church forms an organizing committee and begins planning for Bethlehem Live the Sunday after Labour Day. Hallum says they need between 80 and 100 people to run the event. Volunteers come primarily from the Trinity congregation, but also from the community and other churches.

Admission is free and over the two nights, Bethlehem Live averages 800 to 1000 visitors.

“We feel that it is an important ministry and, as Christ is a free gift to us, we want Bethlehem Live to be a free gift to our community,” explains Hallum.

Inspired by the Osgoode event, a number of other churches have started Bethlehem Live events; one in Orleans, one in Carleton Place, and even one in Halifax. The church gladly provides information and encouragement to groups wanting to mimic the outreach.

“It is one thing to read a story and another to become part of it,” says Hallum. “There is wonder and great joy when people see the baby in the manger and realize that God loves them so much that He sent His Son.”