A memorable “Walk” to first century Bethlehem in Verona

Dec 22, 2011

Photo: a choir of angels at the Verona Methodist Church’s third annual “ A Walk to the First Christmas”

With a cast of 28 characters, the Verona Free Methodist Church’s third annual “Walk to the First Christmas” once again delighted guests, who were treated to a journey back in time to the historic day of Jesus' birth.

The over 150 guests who participated in the walk were guided by a narrator through the church, which had been elaborately transformed into various sets depicting the scenes that led up to the birth of Jesus. Guests visited the manger in Bethlehem, King Herod’s throne room, a Bedouin tent in the desert, and many more indoor and outdoor scenes, each boasting its own set of characters who acted out the story of Jesus’ birth.

Robed in typical dress of that time, the characters, played by members of the church’s congregation, included Joseph, Mary, Elizabeth, Gabriel, a choir of angels, shepherds, three wise men and a very imposing King Herod, who lorded over a sumptuous meal that he invited guests to share with him in his guarded throne room. The meal was a definite highlight of the evening, in which guests were treated to an authentic first century supper that included matzo ball soup, dried fish and manna bread, honey cake, roast beef and other delicious and timeless munchies.

The tour began at the scene where guests first come upon Mary, who is visited by the angel and told of the child that she will soon give birth to. We follow Mary to her meeting with Elizabeth and then later to her meeting with Joseph, with whom she shares her news. We next follow the couple to the manger in Bethlehem where baby Jesus is born, and on the way witness a group of shepherds visited by a choir of angels, telling of the Messiah’s birth. The angels appeared from behind a black curtain, dramatically back-lit in their flowing white robes and surrounded by exquisite angel dolls suspended from the ceiling overhead.

After enjoying the elaborate meal in King Herod’s throne room, we next followed the wise men outside of the church to a dark and cozy Bedouin tent where the three wise men bestow their gifts. This scene brought our walk to a close.

This was the third year that the church has put on the event, which was the brain child of long-time VFMC board member and youth leader Scott Ball. According to Scott, the event takes roughly two months, and hundreds of hours to get up and running. Ball's goal every year is to bring something new to it. Though he was hoping for the addition of live farm animals to this year’s walk, that unfortunately did not pan out. However, the event remains remarkable for its creators’ attention to detail, including the first century meal at King Herod’s throne room. The menu was painstaking researched and included ingredients and recipes that would have been eaten at that time in history.

“I've gone to Bible college and done a lot of studying and what I tend to see in a lot of churches is that for events like these the guests are often just sitting in seats and hearing the story in a very passive way. I wanted to do something different, in a way that gets people involved in the learning, where they can walk literally side by side with the characters as the story unfolds and actually become an integral part of the action”, Scott said.

The event ran on Dec. 16 and 17 and the play was performed numerous times by a hard working and dedicated cast and crew that included a very amiable group of kitchen servers in Herod’s kitchen. Thankfully the king decided to spare them on account of the excellent meal they prepared.

I asked Scott what he hopes guests will leave with, other than a belly full of authentic first century AD fare. “One thing I really hope is that people will come away with a sense of just how humble Jesus' birth was, along with a sense of what it might have been like to have lived back in that time, when life was quite a bit more difficult.”

The event is indeed one of a kind and that was Scott's aim. No doubt next year he will add a few more changes that will keep the crowds coming back for another First Century Walk In Verona.