Included in this Blog are photos taken during the Living Nativity Production put on by the Highline Christian Church. At the end are links to YouTube videos of the Production.
I feel so blessed to have had a small part in the Production - EverRanch Farm provided the sheep for the Shepherds to lead. Shetland Sheep EverRanch Silver Lining ("Lini") and Stonehaven Astrid ("Astrid") behaved appropriate to the occasion and their young Shepherds were very attentive.
The play was set in the middle of suburban, commercial Burien - surrounded by Denny's, Big Lots, Safeway, the Keg, the very busy arterial 1st Avenue, and near enough to SeaTac airport to hear the planes taking off and landing. All this vanished into the background once the play started. We were all transported to Bethlehem for twenty minutes at a time, and it was altogether magical. Pastor Tim gave a short sermon after each performance - and each one was different and very inspriational. We even sang Happy Birthday to Jesus :-)
Thank you to Annette deLeest and the Highline Christian Church for permission to publish these photos and share the true meaning of Christmas with all of you.
This first photo shows Mary and the Stable Boy (Girl) waiting while Joseph talks to the Innkeeper about a place to stay. Mary (the actress) is REALLY pregnant! She's expecting her baby around Christmastime - how special is that??! (An aside - in the last performance, the donkey decided to "leave" and took Mary with him - we're all willing her to stop! She's in no condition to go chasing a donkey - in the snow, no less! Stable Boy came to the rescue before the audience did ;-)
Stable Boy and the Innkeepers wife convince the (henpecked) Innkeeper to let Mary and Joseph stay in the stable, and she gives birth to the baby Jesus (played by several REAL babies! They rotated performances because of the weather.) Just look at this couple; they're so genuine.
So here are the Shepherds, waiting their turn to appear, taking great care of Lini and Astrid.
The Shepherds make their way to Bethlehem after talking to the Angel, who tells them about Jesus. They join Mary and Joseph in the stable with their two little sheep.
You have to indulge me a little - there are a few more photos of Lini and Astrid in here....
Here are Astrid and her Shepherd being attentive to the Baby Jesus...
...and Lini, checking out the audience.
The Holy Angels join the Birth celebration at the Stable. Semi-visible behind the donkey are two goats and a calf. They are real, too, and stayed in the stable during the production.
And another photo of Lini and Astrid taking care of their Shepherds. Oh, right, that's vice versa.
We can't forget the Three Kings. They come from the East (stage right) leading their very regal llamas. I don't think anyone even missed camels, the llamas were so wonderful! ...and they are camelids :-)
The costuming was fantastic. The Shepherds were clothed in plain cloth and fleece, the Kings were, well, you can see, all sparkly and royal looking... and their beards are real!
This is the finale - Joy to the World! The Lord has Come! I can see the creche from my childhood in my mind, and it will never look the same to me.
The Star was a work of art - simple and so meaningful.
Like the Wise Men, it was the star that brought me to the church. I sort of got lost in the sea of parking lots and the dark and the rain, until I saw it suspended by a crane above the hillside. Then I could see the parking attendants and the church below me, and made my way around and into position to unload the sheepies.
These few photos have little of the power that the whole performance does. The narration and Carols, the people and animals, the whole Message. I recorded the performance twice. Once from the left (my favorite) and once from the right (much better views of Mary and Joseph, and the Wise Men). Each one is in two parts (YouTube has a 10 minute limit on videos).
I offer them as my Christmas present to you, my readers.
Don't lose sight of the true Meaning of Christmas.
Part 1 from the left:
Part 2 from the left:
Part 1 from the right:
Part 2 from the right:
Oh, and here's a little walkthrough of the set:
God Bless you and your loved ones,
Franna
3 comments:
I can't watch the videos (dial-up) but the pictures are WONDERFUL!!! Thank you so much for sharing this very special event. I'm just a smiling from ear to ear....
This is awesome. Thank you so much for sharing this with us, and sharing you sheep with the world to help re-create that special time of Jesus' birth.
Tammy
That is the most beautiful living nativity I have ever seen! (I think especially because of all the live animals, too!):) Thanks for sharing!!
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