SPRING VALLEY >> It’s that time of year when members of the Valley Cowboy Church trade their flannel shirts and boots for robes and sandals for the third annual live outdoor Nativity, the only one in Lake County, according to Pastor Jackie Merritt.
“We’re all very excited about it,” Merritt said. “Jesus is the best known person in the world and God wants everyone to know about the story of his birth.”
Merritt added that while the story of Jesus is a Christian one, the pageantry of the Nativity should appeal to Jews, Muslims, Buddhists and even atheists. “It’s a story that people of all faiths can enjoy.”
Merritt — known to her flock as Pastor Jackie — said there are about a dozen people in the Nativity, including Spring Valley married couple Allen and Faydra Perkett as Joseph and Mary. Another dozen people make up the Barbed Wire Choir that will be singing holy Christmas songs during the Nativity.
The purpose of the Nativity is to re-create the birth of Jesus in a Bethlehem manger more than 2.000 years ago. “We want people to feel like they are in Bethlehem right after Jesus was born,” Merritt said.
The pastor said she started the Nativity re-creation, “Because I wanted to make people aware of what Christmas is all about since everyone seems to be caught up in Santa Claus.”
This year’s live Nativity features a donkey, lamb, chickens and other animals, along with about 20 human performers. Merritt said the live animals add a sense of reality to the Nativity, especially since animals were believed to be present in the manger with Jesus.
“Animals give the Nativity the atmosphere of how the shepherds must have felt with animals all around them, including their flocks of sheep,” she said.
The church’s first live Nativity in 2013 came together at the last minute, overcoming several hurdles, including the donkey scheduled to appear in the program canceling at the last minute, no baby could be found to play the newborn Jesus, and the horse Merritt had lined up died several weeks before the start of the Nativity.
Despite these setbacks, the Nativity went on as scheduled with congregation members playing Mary and Joseph, shepherds, a king, and an angel. It even had a sheep, played by a 17-year-old Chihuahua named Peanut.
“We had a lot of last minute changes due to people not being able to come and others being sick,” Merritt said.
That year, the planet Venus, shining bright in the clear night sky, served as the Star of Bethlehem.
Monday’s performance could be forced to move indoors since the forecast calls for rain. However, the forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday predict clear or partly cloudy skies, with cool temperatures but little chance of rain.
Regardless of weather, the show will go on, Merritt said. If it’s forced to move indoors, it will likely be without the animals.
This year’s live Nativity runs from 5 to 7 p.m. Dec. 21-23 and is free. After the event, cookies and hot cocoa will be served inside the church.
The Valley Cowboy Church, 1556 New Long Valley Road, near Spring Valley Road, has about 50 regular members.
