Melinda Marsh has been a part of the Living Nativity at Searcy First Assembly of God since the event’s inception 15 years ago. But for the past four or five years, she has been in charge of the parking-lot area, where she handed out CDs or the USB flash drives to the guests so they could listen to the story while driving through each scene.
“I have the best job, I think,” Marsh said. “I get to talk to the people. I love that about my job. I get to hear from people who live four or five hours away and are coming to see the live Nativity.”
This year, the Living Nativity will look a little different because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mark Ferren, who has been at Searcy First Assembly of God for 23 years and serves as its children’s pastor, said the assembly had to scale back the number of cast members for the event. In years prior, there were about 100 to 150 cast members for the scene, but this year, Ferren said, that number will be cut drastically.
One of the other changes affects Marsh directly, as she will no longer be able to interact with the guests directly. The story will be played on a local radio station. Volunteers will also not be handing out free hot chocolate this year.
“This year is going to be a little different and a little harder,” she said, “but we wanted to keep it going and not interrupt people’s traditions and keep the Christmas story alive, for sure.”
This year’s Living Nativity will take place Friday through Dec. 6 and Dec. 11-13 at Searcy First Assembly of God, 101 S. Benton St. Hours are 6:30-9:30 p.m. Fridays, 5:30-9:30 p.m.
Saturdays and 5:30-83:0 p.m. Sundays. The drive-thru event is free, but donations will be accepted.
Marsh said one of her favorite things about the Living Nativity is hearing about other people’s traditions and getting to hear that for some people, this is the first time they are hearing the true story of Christmas.
“That makes it worth it,” she said. “It is surprising that some people don’t know the true story, especially in an area where we live, where there are so many churches.
“We are going to do the job of Christians and tell the story to as many people as we can.”
The Living Nativity includes replicas of Herod’s place, the inn with a ‘No Vacancy’ sign, multiple storefronts, the temple, tents of three wise men and the manger. Church members portray Bethlehem townspeople as they would have likely appeared on the first Christmas night.
“We had a discussion on whether we should still host the event,” Ferren said. “We feel like people need some hope, and we know where the hope is — our hope is lying in the manger.
“Our world is changing, but the hope hasn’t. We know there are a lot of hurting people, and this is a safe way to experience something together as a family and minister to them.”
Ferren said that over the course of the six-night event, the Living Nativity usually hosts more than 10,000 people. Ferren expects there to be even more people this year.
“People are tired of being at home, and they need something safe to do,” he said. “There are not many things we can do as families that are safe, and this is something that we can do safely together.”
Paula Heathscott has also been a part of the Living Nativity since the very beginning, serving as one of the team leaders in recent years. She said it is her job to walk the streets and make cast substitutions. She said this year will be a little different, with changes as a result of COVID-19, but she said the ambiance will still be there.
“We are all dressed out in character, so it is like stepping back into time because it is so realistic,” Heathscott said. “Our kids have been in it, our parents — it is very much a family thing. We know what to expect, and we are blown away that it is so realistic.”
She said that every year, there is always a tremendous turnout, and “as you talk to people who come through, you find out that this is a family tradition for a lot of them.”
“We have carloads full of people with Christmas pajamas on,” Heathscott said. “It is exciting to see.”
“I think it is important to keep telling the story of the birth of our Savior,” she said. “Christmas is very commercialized, and the birth of our Savior is the reason for Christmas, and I want to help participate in telling that.”
For more information, call (501) 268-3289 or visit livenativity.com.
Staff writer Sam Pierce can be reached at (501) 244-4314 or spierce@arkansasonline.com.