Willow Park Church

By Bobbi-Sue Menard
BC Christian News, December 2008

THE LIVING NATIVITY at Willow Park Church in Rutland draws thousands of spectators to witness the Christmas story. 

The huge production is the result of countless hours of preparation, including barn-yard animal recruiting, cookie baking, live performing and traffic directing. 

“This takes [many] volunteers from our church, and it is our gift to the community,” says Eva Wiebe, coordinator of large events at Willow Park Church.

The Living Nativity has been offered for well over a decade, and Wiebe believes the longevity of the event is due in part to the fact that it is both familiar and new every year. 

Building on the eternal themes and story of Christmas, Willow Park Church creates a slightly different show each year.

The three-part event consists of the outdoor town of Bethlehem with live animals; an indoor live stage show; and a reception. 

The Bethlehem setting is designed to “give people a sense of the sights, sounds and scents” of what the first Christmas may have been like.

The animals vary from year to year, and in the past have included donkeys, sheep, llamas, chickens and other barnyard creatures. Wiebe relies on Maureen Postnikoff to recruit the animals, and each year about 30 creatures fill the barnyard scenes.

“Maureen will drive around, and if she sees an animal that would work she goes ahead and asks. It is by people’s good graces that we have the animals. We would love to have more of them,” says Wiebe.

The stage presentation of the Christmas story takes on a new script every year, and this year the story is called: Imagine God Came Down. 

The half-hour presentation is told from the perspective of the angels witnessing the event. 

“The purpose is to get people aware of the wonder of God coming to earth as a baby. We want to bring them into the idea of how amazing that is.

“Philippians 2:6-11, where Jesus is explained as the very nature of God, sums up what we are trying to show people,” explains Wiebe. 

After the live stage performance, guests are ushered into the main hall, where live mannequins are on display – and cookies and hot chocolate are served. 

This year’s theme is the rural community that surrounds Kelowna, and displays will include a barn and train.

The cookies, always popular, are baked by the Willow Park congregation; some 30,000 cookies are eaten each season.

Touring the event takes up two hours, and is very kid-friendly. Everyone involved in the production is dedicated to a successful time for all attendees, says Wiebe.

“It takes about four to five hundred volunteers to stage the show, and that is not counting the people who bake and donate the cookies,” she explains. 

While some 8,000 spectators attend each year, Wiebe says Willow Park has never surveyed the crowd. However, she is certain that well over a third of the attendees are from the community in general. 

The huge crowds and outreach to the community are all very important, and Wiebe takes tremendous satisfaction in the glowing faces of children at the event – and in knowing that the Christmas story is still important to people who may not have a relationship with Christ.

 “Probably the biggest benefit is the sense of community built in the church itself,” says Wiebe.  “A lot of people at Willow Park volunteer for the first time at Living Nativity.”

This year, 13 shows are planned – and there is the possibility of adding one extra show, if the crowds push the event to capacity. 

Wiebe is grateful there is so much experience in staging Living Nativity, but also notes the need to recognize practical limitations. Nevertheless, enthusiasm reigns.

“We are pretty much maxed out,” she says, but emphasizes: “We can add one more show and we try to be flexible. It’s a lot of people.”