One La Crosse church is getting ready for a Christmas holiday exhibit that doesn’t happen every year.
Members of English Lutheran Church on King Street are preparing scenery and props, and rehearsing for ‘The Bethlehem Event,” recreating what Bethlehem would have been like at the time Jesus was born. About 200 people work on the live display inside the church, that can be seen on December 13th and 14th.
Pam Strittmater is coordinating the production, which has involved five generations of her family over almost 50 years, dating back to the first presentation in 1978, which included her grandmother.
When visitors arrive at the indoor representation of Bethlehem, Strittmater says live animals will be seen and heard throughout the village. “They’ll hear the chickens crowing, they’ll hear the donkey, they’ll hear the goats, they’ll hear people in the courtyard, talking about this wonderful star” over a manger, she says. Actors playing Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus will be located inside a cave, which is part of the scene.
A well and a courtyard will be part of the Bethlehem scene.
Mary Fitzpatrick also is among those dozens of volunteers, and she’ll be on scene selling jewelry amid the sights and sounds of the village. “We make jewelry, little bracelets and necklaces and things for the people who come to visit, and go by my shop,” says Fitzpatrick. She says she has taken part in the last four or five village enactments at English Lutheran.
A business called the “Tall Camel” also is part of the street scene.
Because of all the preparation needed for the event, the recreation of Bethlehem is usually put on once every four years. Visitors to the event must register to attend through the church website.
www.englishlutheran.org.
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