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Hollister’s only Nativity celebration went off without a hitch on Dec. 20 despite being forced indoors because of the threat of rain, which never ended up coming.
Heather Craig, Children’s Director at the Hollister campus of South Valley Community Church, told BenitoLink that the Family Ministry Nativity Story outdoor Christmas Experience had to be moved inside because of expected showers.
The event had been held indoors in the past, but COVID-19 made it necessary to move it outside the church, creating an entirely new drive-through experience.
“Whether outdoors or indoors, the intent is the same,” Craig said, “to share the gospel with the community of the birth of Christ and who He was and is, and yeah, to invite the community.”
She told BenitoLink that to pull off the annual event takes months of planning.
“We start back in September with planning, figuring it out, gathering all our pieces for each scene, and choosing directors for tech, for lighting, for sound, and actors,” she said. “We also have hot chocolate, caroling, and we hand out cookies. We use a lot of local vendors who provide cookies and hot chocolate. And then we have fellowship tents that we set up for people to hang out.”
Craig said there are at least 15 volunteers and smiled when she added, “Some of our male actors are a little bit harder to recruit at times. But we have six stations and five live scenes from the Nativity story. At the last station we have someone sharing the Gospel and inviting people to pray.”
She said the celebration has been a big hit in the community for the last few years.
“Typically, we have about 300 people go through in a two-hour period,” she said.
When people started arriving later in the night, they were welcomed in the vestibule by a choir singing Christmas carols and a giant Christmas tree as a backdrop for family photos.
Then, volunteers with flashlights led small groups through the sanctuary, where scenes of the Nativity story were told, with church members playing Mary and Joseph, shepherds, and even the glowing angels, thanks to twinkling LED lights in the actor’s costumes.
After each tour through the church, the visitors were offered refreshments, and invitations to pray were offered.
Other local churches’ Christmas services
St. Benedict Catholic Church will conduct English masses on Christmas Day at 8:45 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., and Spanish Mass at 12:30 p.m., and Sacred Heart Catholic Church will hold mass in Spanish on Christmas Day at 9 a.m.
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