NOTE: This event, scheduled for Dec. 23, was rescheduled for Dec. 30.
In a year where everything is different, parishes are finding creative ways to make the Advent and Christmas seasons special.
The churches of St. Anthony in Watkins and Assumption in Eden Valley, for example, will host an outdoor depiction of the Nativity story. “The Story of Jesus’ Birth: A Drive Through Christmas Event,” will be held at 6:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 23.
The parish staff chose to present the story of Christ’s birth as a free, drive-through event to allow everyone involved, even the audience, to be safe and comfortable, said Christy Louwagie, director of religious education for the parishes.
The eight scenes of the story will be set up in yards throughout the city of Watkins. Starting at the St. Anthony church parking lot, a leader car will guide two caravans through the story, one starting at 6:30 p.m. and one at 7:30 p.m.
“Gabriel Media, AM 1180 K-YES radio, will be providing narration for each scene on their website for that evening,” Louwagie said. “That way people can see and hear the story.”
Louwagie provided the narration parts to K-YES; they recorded them in the studio and will be posting them on their website on the 23rd.
Participants will need a smartphone to connect with the K-YES website, www.kyesradio.com, to hear the narration, she said, and there will be volunteers at each entrance of the parking lot that night to hand each car a program with instructions. The volunteers also will be available to help people get to the right place on their phone.
For those who don’t have a smartphone , there will still be signs in each yard with Bible verses to help identify what scene they are seeing, Louwagie said.
We want people remember that Jesus is at the center of Christmas and how special his birth was then and still is now,” Louwagie said. “We want them to just enjoy time with their family reliving the story in a different and fun way.”