43
Church members portray birth of Christ
The Vindicator (Youngstown)
Photo
Joseph and Sherrie Manners play the roles of Joseph and Mary during a live nativity scene held at St. Joseph and Immaculate Heart of Mary School in Austintown.
The Vindicator (Youngstown)
Photo
An actor portraying one of the wise men at a live nativity scene held at St. Joseph and Immaculate Heart of Mary School in Austintown.
By LINDA M. LINONIS
AUSTINTOWN
About 100 visitors came and went during a live Nativity display Sunday afternoon in front of St. Joseph and Immaculate Heart of Mary School, 4490 Norquest Boulevard.
Tami Kielbasa, a member of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, who came with her two 11-year-old daughters, summed up the feeling: “It puts a smile in your heart.”
The Nativity was presented by Knights of Columbus Council 3930 and the church. Herman Carach, grand knight, said the Nativity event is in its second year. “We felt it was important to emphasize Christ ... and see the Nativity portrayed,” he said.
Carach began the event with a reading of the Gospel of Luke 2:1-20 about the birth of Jesus and visit by the shepherds. Angela Smith, a church member, provided guitar accompaniment to the singing of religious Christmas carols, and her daughters, Lauren, 15, and Angela, 12, helped lead the singing with their mother.
Carach said last year’s Nativity drew positive comments, so the Knights of Columbus and church opted to repeat it.
Monsignor Kenneth Miller, pastor, said, “This emphasizes that Christ is the reason for the season. It’s an island of calm among the commercialism, lights and so on.”
With temperatures hovering in the low 20s, Monsignor Miller said the simple setting outside in nature gives people an idea of the real Nativity. “It reaffirms the true meaning of Christmas,” he said.
Bridget and Tom Shilling and their daughter, Dee, members of the church, came to see the Nativity. “This is a special time of year, and this reminds us of the miracle,” Bridget said.
“It’s fun to see the animals and people,” Dee said, adding that it was nice to support the church project.
Kielbasa said she liked the Nativity because it draws attention to the meaning of the season, and it’s not about Santa Claus. Daughter Rachel said, “It’s nice for people to come together to see this.” Her sister, Rebecca, said that the animals “were cute” and fun to watch.
The animals, an alpaca, pygmy goats, a Jacob sheep and a miniature Mediterranean donkey, were provided by Pony Tails of Canfield with handlers Jaime and Launa Scott.
Jaime explained the donkey is distinctive because of a semblance of a cross on the animal’s back. The cross is a stripe of darker hair down the length of the back crossed by a shoulder stripe across the top of the body at the withers.
“The legend is that these donkeys are the descendants of the donkey that carried Mary to the stable,” Jaime said.
Their donkey, named Eeyore after the donkey in “Winnie the Pooh,” was slightly rambunctious about being contained in a small, portable corral.
As the Nativity concluded, and characters left the makeshift stable to warm up, Tripp, a pygmy goat, bleated for attention and wandered away from the Scotts.
But when he was called, he responded obediently. “He’s a house goat,” Jaime said, explaining Tripp was the only survivor of triplets, bottle-fed and reared in the house.