Living Nativities make seasonal arrival
Mojo's got knobby knees and a hair-covered hump on his back. Yet he and his six friends are in high demand as the guests of honor at churches and in parades across Butler County.
Mojo and his fellow camels — Crosby, Ed, Wilbur, Samson, Ernie and Abu — will be crisscrossing Western Pennsylvania and traveling into Ohio from now until Christmas, attending live Nativity displays and Christmas parades.
They are often joined by other animals rented from Living Treasures of Moraine, 268 Fox Road in New Castle.
“We have seven camels all available for churches to rent. They are all males acquired from different zoos and facilities,” said Erin Shaffer, Living Treasures event coordinator.
They are booked for 14 to 15 multiple-day events in December.
She said the dromedary camels (they're the ones with one hump) are so popular their appearances have to be booked a year in advance.
“As soon as this year's events are passed, we do follow-up calls, and the people say they want the same weekend next year,” Shaffer said.
Shaffer said Mojo and his buddies are rented out by the hour.
“It has to be at least an hour long, but we will be there as long as they want us there,” she said.
“We have three trailers. We rotate the camels so they can do three events at the same time,” she said.
It will cost extra if the camels are ridden and are not just set decoration for a Christmas event, she added.
“If there's riding involved that's an additional handler, ramps, saddles,” she said. “Most people are doing a living Nativity. They are part of a scene.”
One repeat client for the camels' services is Concordia Lutheran Ministries which will host its fourth annual live Nativity scene at 4:30, 5:15 and 6 p.m. Dec. 11 in front of the Haven II building at 148 Marwood Road in Jefferson Township.
Live Christmas music, hot beverages and refreshments will be provided indoors as well as a gift for children age 12 and younger.This will be a “walk-through” Nativity, so guests are encouraged to dress warmly.Shirley Freyer, director of public relations at Concordia, said the scene will feature staff and residents portraying angels, villagers and the Holy Family.“We have six angels, six shepherds and 11 villagers,” Freyer said. One of those villagers will be a handler for the camel and other animals Concordia is renting for the event.“Concordia supplies the costume for the camel wrangler,” Freyer said.The 15-minute tableaux will be narrated by resident Bob Kaltenhauser.“People get to pet the animals at the end of the show,” Freyer added.Shaffer said, “All the camels are pretty calm. They give rides at the park in the summer. They are all used to people.”Joining the camels in their holiday appearances are goats, sheep and small cows to round out the stable scenes, Shaffer said.The First Presbyterian Church of Bakerstown, 5825 Heckert Road, Bakerstown, Allegheny County, is using two baby camels rented from the Barnyard Petting Zoo in Eighty Four for its live Nativity, said Sandy Floyd, a member of the committee charged with staging the event.She said the animals are a big draw.“People are really interested in the sheep, goats, donkeys,” Floyd said.Still, First Presbyterian is careful to keep the focus on the Christmas story, she said.“There are five vignettes — Isaiah's prophecy, the angel's visit to Mary, Baby Jesus in the manger, shepherds visited by the angels, and the three wise men,” Floyd said.
“And there's a narration and guides to walk through the scenes. There's no actual speaking to people; it's not a play,” she said.But some choose to find animals for a living Nativity on their own. That's what members of the Presbyterian Church of Portersville, 1297 Perry Highway in Portersville, are doing for their living Nativity display set for 6 to 8 p.m. Dec. 17 and 18 at the church.“We have some farm families still in the church. We will have calves, pygmy goats, sheep and donkeys. We don't have a camel. That gets pretty expensive,” said the Rev. Dana Opp, church pastor.The animals, Opp added, “are fairly docile, and we have them in a corral, and the calves have a plastic shelter. They stay overnight, and we have somebody stay with them.”“This is our third year with the living Nativity,” Opp said. “There are the tableaux with a recorded message of the Gospel on a 10-minute loop, and we have Christian music contemporary and classic.”Opp said young visitors will be able to pet the animals.All the work that goes into staging the display — from members of the adult Sunday school class who portray the characters, to the families who donate the animals — speaks to church fellowship, Opp said.Donations taken in at the display benefit the Pine Valley Bible Camp in Ellwood City.The living Nativity at Mars United Presbyterian Church, 232 Crowe Ave., is more of an outreach program than a fundraiser, said church member John Ivory of Treesdale.He is in charge of staging the event which will run from 6 to 8 p.m. Dec. 9 and 10 in the parking lot at the church's rear entrance.“We do half-hour presentations. There are four a night,” Ivory said. “This is more of a stop, sit and watch.”“Everyone is welcome to stop by. It's a nice Nativity scene. We built it ourselves.”Sheep and donkeys are contributed by church members, according to Ivory.Sometimes the animals don't follow the script, though.Zion United Methodist Church has dispensed with animals, said member Kim Braden, after “a donkey got a little ornery” one year. The church at 438 Bear Creek Road in Sarver is staging its live Nativity this weekend,Braden said, “I didn't want the responsibility for the animals. Now, if someone wants to take it on ...”For a more secular holiday display, Living Treasures can supply reindeer.“We have four or five reindeer,” Shaffer said. ”We have more than that, but some aren't ready to be taken out.”She said the reindeer are used mostly as set decorations for events with Santa.She said people can touch and feed the reindeer, but the animals are on leads and in the control of an accompanying handler.“They aren't so much skittish, but it is policy to have them on a lead,” Shaffer said. “They do have antlers.”
