Live nativity a hit

A church congregation in Black Diamond is putting Christ into Christmas in two outdoor performances depicting the birth of Jesus this week. The Black Diamond Gospel Church is reenacting the live nativity in its parking lot Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. in what’s becoming an annual tradition for the town. “It’s a blessing to the community,” said Karen Letkeman, wife of Black Diamond Gospel Church associate pastor Bryce Letkeman. “Our whole point is to proclaim the gospel to others and bless our community.” Letkeman, the director and co-ordinator, said the live nativity is a 30-minute presentation of Christ’s birth and everything that revolved around it. It will depict Joseph and Mary making their journey through Nazareth to Bethlehem and will also feature the three wise men, shepherds and an assortment of animals. A prophet will proclaim some scripture about how Christ is the word before time began and Bryce will speak in scripture from the Book of Luke and John about how Mary is visited by an angel and told she’s going to become with child through the holy spirit and that it’s God’s good plan for her, said Letkeman. In addition, the public will enjoy some Christmas carols by the church choir and lamb stew, coffee and cookies. Letkeman said Friday night’s performance often sees about 50 people, particularly seniors, while the Saturday evening performance, which takes place in conjunction with Light Up Black Diamond, often has about 300 people attending. “The whole reason why we do it is to explain the gospel to our community,” she said. “We look forward to it every year. We’re very blessed to be in the community we are, and being given the opportunity that we can to coincide it with the Town’s Light Up is wonderful.” Shirley Mundell, owner and operator of Kuddly Kountry Kritters south of Black Diamond, spearheaded the live nativity to bring the story of Christ to the community. “I want the public to know that Christmas is about Christ and not just shop until you drop,” said Mundell. “That’s our main goal is to make sure the real Christmas story gets out to the public. A lot of people don’t go to church so I would hope that this would open their eyes to Christ.” A large part of the live nativity is the involvement of numerous animals including miniature horses, donkeys, llamas and smaller animals for a petting zoo including pot bellied pigs and rabbits, Mundell said. “I think anybody that has a nativity should have some animals in it,” she said. “It makes it feel a little more real. You have to use your imagination to make llamas into camels, but it makes them think a little bit about what it was like way back in the beginning.” Putting on such a performance take a lot of work that begins months in advance, said Letkeman. “It takes planning,” she said. “Thankfully the groundwork that was laid by Shirley, who spearheaded it for so many years we can now build upon it.” The performance requires about 50 volunteers in one capacity to another from singing in the choir to making the costumes, said Letkeman. “There’s a lot of moving parts from the food to the sets,” she said. “We try to make sure everybody is able to get enough rehearsal time so it goes as smoothly as possible.”