-
Third Phase: “Swihart Annual Christmas Pageant”
A terrible commotion was coming from behind the cabin. Our guide, Dr. Paddock, the Old Testament prof at Manhattan Christian College, had led our group down the small knoll, the journey lit only by the guide’s lantern. We had approached a small cabin, the staged home of Mary and Joseph. Through the window, we could discern a couple sitting at the table, apparently enjoying their evening meal. Immediately the source of the commotion became clear, as out of the darkness a white horse appeared, running full speed toward the onlookers. Wide-eyed the group gasped in unison. Before charging the onlookers head-on, the wild steed took a sharp left and disappeared…
-
The Barn Doors Open (continued from last post)
The audience quieted as the knock came on the large, rolling barn door. Joseph was standing in the darkness. The innkeeper appeared in the large doorway, and Joseph, motioning to a pregnant Mary sitting on a donkey close behind him, began to explain their plight: “Please, sir, can you give us a room for the night? My wife is about to deliver, and we have nowhere to stay.” “Can’t you see,” shouted the surly innkeeper as he turned and waved with a sweeping arm across the audience, “we are full tonight.” Ah, we were finally on track. What was to be an experience of remembrance and worship was beginning to take…
-
The First Nativity
We led the animals down the road, Judd holding the lead ropes to the horse and pony, and I with my bucket of grain for the sheep. The beam from the flashlight Judd held in his free hand lit the way through the darkness. At the bottom of the hill, we turned in to the pole shed area which had become the designated spot for our first nativity program. The pole shed area boasted of nice round bales that were stored in the shed. Those bales and the old shed would be the perfect area for our endeavor. With a concrete slab near the fence and feeding troughs along…
