A Night In Bethlehem

Instead of the traditional children's Christmas program at church this year a special "Night In Bethlehem" was planned.  There were booths representing things like a baker, a jewelry maker, a scribe, and a carpenter shop.  At each booth there was an activity for the children and part of the story of Jesus' birth.  Pete's part in the program was to be the scribe, helping the children use a stylus to write a Hebrew word.  

After the visitors had been to each tent they were led outside to a live nativity where they heard about Jesus' birth in Bethlehem.  As part of the live nativity we'd been asked to bring our two sheep.  So around 3 pm we loaded up the sheep and drove them to church.  

Skip and Dude on their way to church for their supporting role

When we got there a pen had been set up for the animals (our sheep, a cow and a donkey - fortunately no camels or oxen).  My first misgiving came when I saw the pen panels.  The rails were far enough apart that I knew the sheep could get through them.  My second misgiving came when we put the sheep in the pen and they totally freaked out at the donkey.  Things calmed down a little when I put out the hay I'd brought.  Calmed down, that is, until I walked out of the pen and started to walk away.  Dude bolted and just as I had feared he went right between the pen railings and scampered off to the parking lot.  You can supply your own mental image of several adults and numerous children trying to capture the witless sheep loose amongst the cars.  

Once we corralled him it quickly became evident to me that I was going to have to stay IN the pen with them or we'd be chasing sheep all night.  The owner of the cow graciously brought over an extra bale of straw for me to sit on and someone else rooted through the costume box and brought me an old bathrobe to put on so I'd at least look a bit like a shepherd.  I'm not sure how I looked but I was grateful for the added warmth of the robe.  It was an incredibly beautiful evening for mid-December in Illinois but still, three hours at 45 degrees gets chilly.  Nevertheless, I got to see all the visitors to the stable and how much they enjoyed the animals.  The children were fascinated by the donkey and sheep especially.  I think perhaps the size of the cow was a bit daunting for them, even though it was a beautiful animal.

The sheep were fine as long as I was near and the cow and donkey stayed away from them.  They were mildly curious about Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus.  

The "fearsome" donkey

I had planned to take lots of photos of the various booths and activities but I didn't get out of the animal pen all evening.  After the last visitors were through we loaded the sheep back up and headed home.  The dogs were ecstatic to see us all again and the sheep were so worn out from their adventure that they immediately laid down to chew their cud and didn't even come when I put feed in their bin.  As I walked away from the barn a coyote howled in the distance. One old scribe and one old shepherdess dismantled the travel cage and went wearily into the house, ready for a little peace and quiet.