Delta churchgoers live the Nativity

DELTA, Mo. -- Adam and Eve looked chilly as she offered him an apple. Noah's wife quietly scolded the animals to get back on the boat. Baby Jesus was a little fussy.

And as dusk melted into darkness Saturday, members of the First Baptist Church of Delta took their places for their second annual living nativity scene.

This is the second year the church presented "The Woods of Christmas," with the congregation reenacting scenes from the Bible, beginning with the Garden of Eden and ending with the empty tomb of Christ.

Performers playing angels, shepherds, soldiers and other characters took shifts during the three-hour presentation.

Last year, more than 200 people visited the live Bible scenes, and the church ran out of programs, church pastor Eric Hodge said. That was despite sleet and snow.

This year, they had 400 programs and the skies were clear.

Camels, sheep and goats from 5-H Ranch in Cape Girardeau added realism to most scenes, but on Noah's Ark, the church opted for more whimsy. Children dressed as donkeys, cows and other animals frolicked among pens of clucking chickens.

When the children ventured too close to the edge of the performance area, a stern-looking Noah herded them back in line.

Passersby seemed charmed by the human element brought to each figure from the Bible.

Visitors had the option of either driving through the scenes or walking. Volunteers offered hot coffee, chili, cookies and punch inside the church.

Scenes also included shepherds in the field, Jesus and the Roman soldiers and the empty tomb.

Larry and Faith Crutsinger drove from Oak Ridge, Mo., to see their 13-week-old granddaughter take a turn as the infant Jesus.

Little Morgan, quickly calmed with a pacifier and toy star, settled into her role cuddled by parents, Faith and Larry Crutsinger Jr. as Mary and Joseph.

As grandma leaned stepped into the stable to say hello to the baby, she let out a short yelp of surprise, then laughed as a sheep nudged her.

Nearby, a 9-year-old shepherd giggled.

Jordan White of Chaffee, Mo., said he's used to animals. "But I'm not used to those," he said, gazing at the camels that stood calmly with the three wise men.

Hodge said the idea to do a live Nativity was born after several parishioners saw a similar event in Sikeston, Mo.

He said it was important to add scenes surrounding the crucifixion and resurrection "because that's why He was born in the first place," Hodge said.

abuchanan@semissourian.com

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