Lilly the donkey is being prepared for her return to the spotlight Dec. 22 and 23 at the Sarnia Redeemer Lutheran Church live nativity scene.
Advertisement 2
Article content
“Lilly has been told she’s going to church,” said Shelia Ginn, president of the board with the Indian Road church that has been home to the annual nativity scene for several decades. “Those were the owner’s exact words,” she said.
Article content
Lilly has been part of the nativity scene for several years and this year will be joined by a sheep from a church member’s hobby farm, along with the human members of the cast, Ginn said.
The live nativity scene is set for 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm, both evenings, on the lawn of the church at 429 Indian Rd.
“This has been a tradition for over 40 years at Redeemer,” Ginn said.
“We want to show the community of Sarnia the true meaning of Christmas,” she said. “We’re sharing our faith. . . and we welcome them to join us for Christmas.”
Advertisement 3
Article content
There will be carol singing at 7 pm both evenings and the church’s pastor, Colton LaMay, will be on hand singing and greeting visitors. “Weather permitting, he will play his guitar,” Ginn said.
LaMay, who grew up in Missouri, studied classical guitar performance at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas. “He’s very talented. . . he plays the guitar, the organ, the piano and the flute,” Ginn said.
Spectators will be invited into the church hall for hot chocolate and cookies after visiting the nativity scene, she said.
The tradition took a break for two years during COVID-19 restrictions and returned last December only to be interrupted by a winter storm.
“Our second night was canceled because the weather was so bad,” Ginn said about last year’s event.
Advertisement 4
Article content
It takes a small army each year to make the nativity scene happen.
Church members who volunteer to fill shifts in the stable are treated to dinner both evenings, Ginn said.
“It used to be mainly the youth that were in it,” she said. “And now it has become sort of a mixture of adults and youth.”
A doll plays the part of baby Jesus. Ginn said she doesn’t believe there has ever had an actual baby in the scene.
“That would be a little stressful, not only for the mother but also the baby and everyone else concerned,” she said.
Costumes for the scene participants, generally seven each evening, are set out at the church where volunteer “dressers” help them get ready, Ginn said.
Other volunteers get cookies ready and a crew set up the stable Saturday morning. “They come in on Boxing Day and take it down,” Ginn said.
Advertisement 5
Article content
The congregation has become known in the community for the annual nativity scene.
In the early years, a popular home Christmas light display was set up annually by the late Harvey McMichael on Oak Street just a short distance away and local residents often visited both sites on the same evening, Ginn said.
“They would go and see what I call the commercial Christmas and then they would come and see the true meaning of Christmas,” she said. “It was a tradition for many families.”
McMichael’s display was the inspiration for what became Sarnia’s Celebration of Lights in Centennial Park.
Article content