Members of Grace, St. Peter’s and St. John’s Lutheran churches held their third annual drive-thru live Nativity on Saturday November 25th. As if on cue, the first significant snow began to fall on this Saturday after Thanksgiving, kicking off the holiday season with a Christmas feel.
Nativity scenes celebrate Jesus’ birth in a stable in Bethlehem where his parents had arrived to be counted in the census. Church volunteers similarly counted 108 vehicles and 337 people as they entered the Grace church yard off highway 4 East of Goodhue. Like the wise men of the Bible, visitors brought gifts—gifts that totaled 253 pounds of food and $880.00 in cash that will be donated to the Zumbrota area food shelf.
Once past the check-in point, visitors slowly drove past multiple large signs printed with the Christmas story. Children and adults in costumes depicting angels, wise men, shepherds, gate-keepers, and Mary and Joseph were stationed along the route. Each group sang Christmas carols as passengers and drivers rolled past. In addition to the costumed members, the scenes featured live animals including goats, horses, a pony, a donkey and a calf.
The light snow came with a chill wind but hosts were able to take turns at their stations and warm themselves by a fire during the 2-hour experience. Darwyn and Mary Tri coordinated the event that required a lot of planning and a lot of volunteers. The live Nativity was a joint project of the three WELS churches served by Pastors Robbin Robbert and Martin Weigand. For more information, contact Pastor Weigand at 715-441-5086 or stop by their booth at the upcoming German Christmas Market in Goodhue on December 2nd.
