-Submitted photo
Emanuel-St. John Lutheran Church will be hosting a living nativity on Sunday, Dec. 11. Several youth from the church will be portraying the historical figures from the scene that took place in Bethlehem more than 2,000 years ago.

Lytton — It may look like a typical Iowa farm building, but a barn northeast of Lytton will offer a unique opportunity to transport your family to ancient Bethlehem through a living nativity on Dec. 11.

“Even in rural Iowa, things like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, shop ’til you drop and Santa Claus lead you away from the season of Advent,” said Cheryl Haden, who is helping coordinate the living nativity through the Emanuel-St. John (ESJ) Lutheran Church in Lytton.

“The word Advent means ‘coming.’ It’s the time Christians set apart to prepare their hearts to once again celebrate the birth of their Savior and also use this time as a preparation for His coming again.”

The church invites the public to experience this living nativity at the barn, along with a soup supper at the church, on the evening of Sunday, Dec. 11. Along with people portraying the Bible story of the birth of Jesus, the living nativity will feature a mule, a horse, calves, sheep, goats, chickens, and miniature donkeys or goats.

The event builds on a living nativity that the Emanuel-St. John Lutheran Church offered 16 years ago.

“At the time, we lived across the road from this barn, and I always loved it,” Haden said. “I had organized several of the children’s Christmas programs through the years and thought it would be wonderful to do a live nativity in this barn.”

The barn’s owner, Julie Haberstroh, agreed, and local volunteers cleaned up the building to prepare it for a living nativity in 2006. It seemed like a good idea to bring back this unique celebration of Christmas for 2022.

“We’re always brainstorming to find ways to get kids involved in various church activities,” Haden said. “In recent years, we’ve gotten the older kids involved in the planning and implementation of the children’s Christmas program. We approached the confirmation class and asked if they had ideas about a program they’d like to help with. When I mentioned that years

earlier we had done a live nativity, there was a lot of excitement.”

Living the faith

None of the kids had been born when Emanuel-St. John held its living nativity in 2006, although some of their parents were in the original play. Church leaders received permission to use the Haberstroh barn again in 2022 and started making plans.

“One of the biggest tasks was cleaning up 16 years of racoon poop and cobwebs,” Haden said.

The kids helped with the cleanup, plus they took down and rebuilt pens, built a stage and hauled in cornstalk and straw bales that will provide tiered seating at the program.

“We hope the kids learn that many hands make any job easier, and that’s what a congregation is — a big family where in all things we work together for the glory of God,” Haden said. “We want them to learn to live their faith.”

This spirit of family has been part of the 2022 living nativity from the start.

“I’m so grateful for all the ‘yes’ responses I’ve received when asking for help,” Haden said. “I’m especially thankful for my husband, Ron, and my ‘co-directors,’ Shelley Haupert and Faith Worley, who willingly say ‘I can do that’ to all the details that need to be done.”

Haden is also grateful for Teresa VanHulzen, who wrote the script called “The Story” for the living nativity program 16 years ago. VanHulzen and her husband, Kurt, will serve as the narrators of the living nativity on Dec. 11. During the event, a choir will sing beloved Christmas carols, as well as three special musical numbers.

Cast for the

Living Nativity

Mary will be portrayed by Peyton Riley and Joseph by Mitch Hinrichs. The shepherds will be portrayed by Alan Meyer and Keith Berry. Shepherd boys will be Marcus Mentzer and Kacen Waller. Chase Hetjmanek will portray the stable boy. The angels will be Lille Greene, Abigail Lankford, Elodie Mentzer, Brinley Riley, Sophie Twyman and Piper Williams. The angel Gabrielle will be played by Khouper Trudeau-Adams. Baby Jesus will be portrayed by Waylon Huddleson, son of Nolan and Allysha Huddleson.