Concordia hosts live Nativity
CABOT — A camel, a llama and other animals were herded Sunday to the retirement community at Concordia Lutheran Ministries for a live performance recreating the birth of Jesus Christ.
The Nativity was attended by dozens of families with members of the community playing the parts of all the figures that were said to have attended the birth of a historical figure in Christian and, to a lesser extent, Judaic Scripture. This was the sixth year that Concordia hosted the production.
“It started out as an idea to tell the real story of Christmas,” said Conor Hagey of Oakmont, the director of retirement living. “Any chance we have to proclaim Scripture, I want to be a part of. It also doubles as a nice thing for the family to do. It's really great for the kids.”
With residents acting out the parts, Roberta Breninghouse, the director of activities for skilled nursing, sang along to a track of “Go Tell it on the Mountain” by recording artist Dolly Parton.
“I tried to outsing her,” Breninghouse said afterward.
She continued, “Music is an important part of this. It pulls people together. It brings the community together. Concordia is a fabulous place filled with genuine love. They show that to each other. You don't find that everywhere.”
The senior troupe performed twice on Sunday night. After both performances, people were invited inside one of the senior home buildings, where they were treated with cookies, hot chocolate and a choir performance by a vocal group from near Pittsburgh.The animals, meanwhile, were held in a pen near the crib, which functioned as center stage. The camel was kept to the other side in its own private enclosure. Children watched as the donkey trotted the perimeter of the pen, harrying the goats along with it. The llama, standing tall above the rest, thwacked the donkey during its pass.They were meant to be stand-ins for barn animals that would have been common in the Middle East more than 2,000 years ago. Attending to the animals was Chris Magyar, an animal handler with Barnyard Petting Zoo. For the job, he brought a camel, a llama, a donkey, four lambs and three goats. During the summer, Magyar transports the mini-menagerie to county fairs mostly. But with the holiday season setting in, Nativities are the main business.“I don't know if llamas were in the Middle East at that time but, hey, we have a camel too,” Magyar said.
