This year our church has started a new Christmas outreach ministry called Bethlehem Live! The concept is to have people participate in an actual live journey to Bethlehem and to experience the Christmas story as it unfolds right before their eyes. Travellers, led by their guide, encounter beggars, bandits, roman soldiers, shepherds, live animals, a market place, and a prophetess as they pay their taxes, and attempt to find a place to stay in the city. At the end of their journey they are directed to the stable of the inn where they find a couple, an important baby, and the meaning of Christmas. All of this is topped off by live music while they await their tour as well as christmas baking and beverages to warm up with after their journey is completed.
Dave and our friend (and music & creative arts pastor) Kris have been busy heading up and adminstrating this event for the past several months. Needless to say, there are a lot of details in a production like this, so they have been very busy doing everything from recruiting, to snow removal, to hooking up heaters and building fires to keep our actors warm, to putting up sets, to conducting interviews, to ... well you get the idea. They are very busy guys missed much by their wives!
Bethlehem Live! runs for 3 nights and started last evening. So far the response has been great. Infact we had to turn people away near the end of the evening. However, tonight we should have it worked out so we can take more people, more quickly. If you live close to Grande Prairie, you should come check it out. For those of our friends who live out of reach, you can check out some pictures that Melody has put on their blog http://www.krisandmel.blogspot.com.
