Contacts & Publisher

Subscription Form

Home  / News & Publications /  Michigan Catholic News / 2009 /  O Little Town of Bethlehem

by Robert Delaney of The Michigan Catholic
Published December 25, 2009

Elizabeth Cronin | The Michigan Catholic A living creche scene provides the climax of "A Live Nativity" on the grounds of SS. Peter & Paul Parish, North Branch.

DETROIT — Whether the bright star in the night sky above North Branch Dec. 12 was actually in the east depended on which way one was driving.

For those heading west on M-90, for example, the star was visible in the west. But from whichever direction it was approached, the star led people to "A Living Nativity" that took place 6-8 p.m. Dec. 12 at SS. Peter & Paul Parish in the Lapeer County community.

Following the 5 p.m. Mass, people were invited to take a guided journey from the church to the manger where Jesus was born, passing three eastern kings and Roman soldiers and tax collectors, as well as passing through the market square of Bethlehem and by a crowded inn to get there.

Altogether, "A Live Nativity" had a cast of about 55 people, including members not only of SS. Peter & Paul Parish, but also of its two cluster partners, St. Mary Parish in Burnside Township and St. Patrick Mission in Clifford.

Counting all the behind-the-scenes workers, the production involved more than 100 people.

Elizabeth Cronin | The Michigan Catholic Shepherds Joey and Jack Schulte with a donkey and some of their sheep at "A Live Nativity" Dec. 12 in North Branch.

But besides the people there were animals – a lot of animals. After all, these far northern reaches of the Archdiocese of Detroit are still farm country.

Local farmers from the cluster furnished cows, sheep (including Jacob sheep, the ones with the curly horns), llamas, alpacas, donkeys, chickens, turkeys, geese and rabbits.

And to lend a little Holy Land authenticity, there was even a camel, Omar, the cost of renting it for the occasion covered by the Knights of Columbus.

"We're hoping this journey through Bethlehem will help people get the feeling of what it might have been like on that night," said Deb Ruhlman of North Branch, who chaired the committee that put the whole thing together.

"It's cold, the people are shown to be poor, the Roman soldiers are harsh, but then there is the excitement about the birth of Jesus," she said of the experience.

Ruhlman is quick to emphasize that the production was a group effort, and credited the active participation of about 18 parishioners who served on the committee, as well as the cast members and other workers for making it all possible.

"We couldn't have done it without all of these people. I mean, we had people placing about 400 luminary bags around the grounds, and lots of fire pits were dug so cast members and visitors could warm up," Ruhlman said.

Elizabeth Cronin | The Michigan Catholic The Three Kings — Kurt Schwartz as Caspar, Ric Stevens as Melchior and Tom Ruhlman as Balthazar – talk about their journey following a star during "A Live Nativity."

After the 5 p.m. Mass at the church, groups of 15 people at a time were taken through the living Nativity on the parish grounds. They first encountered the three kings, as they sat around a fire in an enclosed tent and discussed how they had followed a star to get there and how they were bringing gifts.

Next, they came to a census booth, where Roman soldiers on horseback ordered to "Pay your taxes!" and "Move on!"

They encountered more Roman soldiers as they approached Bethlehem's market square, where there are chickens and ducks and geese, as if for sale, and poor children are either hawking various goods or begging for shekels. Here, too, are other children singing Christmas carols.

At the end of the street is the façade of an inn, with a person at one of the windows exclaiming "No vacancies! Maybe you'll find something further on."

But then, if they continued to approach the star (a shiny metal one, mounted atop a 40-foot pole and illuminated by a spotlight), they came to the manger. And there they encountered Joseph and Mary and the baby Jesus.

Elizabeth Cronin | The Michigan Catholic Caleb Schank and Kierstyn Schulte portray Joseph and Mary in "A Live Nativity" on the grounds of SS. Peter & Paul Parish in North Branch.

Kierstyn Schulte played Mary at the manger scene and Caleb Schank was Joseph, but a doll had to stand in for the holy infant.

There, too, were more farm animals, as Scripture and tradition have always told us. And there were children excitedly relaying the news of the Child's birth.

Playing Mary was a really cool experience, said Schulte, 20. "It's a lot to live up to, because I grew up learning about the Blessed Mother," she said.

Schulty also played Mary both of the previous times SS. Peter & Paul did "A Live Nativity" — four years ago to mark the beginning of its 100th anniversary celebration, and again the following year to mark the close of the celebration.

She was still in high school then, but this time she was home from school on the other side of the state; Schulte is a second-year student at the Culinary Institute of Michigan in Muskegon.

She said she felt honored to be asked to play Mary yet again.

Elizabeth Cronin | The Michigan Catholic As pastor of the SS. Peter & Paul, St. Mary Burnside and St. Patrick Mission cluster, Fr. Rich Treml is a shepherd to his people. On Dec. 12, his flock included real sheep.

Fr. Rich Treml, pastor of SS. Peter & Paul, St. Mary Burnside and St. Patrick, said the production had been a project that sparked a lot of excitement among parishioners and a great unifier for the cluster.

"We had people in church until about 10 o'clock, the night of Dec. 7, fitting costumes. We had all those costumes left over (from the previous years), but this year's production involves a lot more people. Luckily, we have some excellent seamstresses in the parish," he said.

But besides providing a chance for involvement and cluster cooperation, Fr. Treml said there are also other good reasons for doing the production, "especially now, with the anti-Christmas thing going on."

"In our country, the traditional family and Church is controversial now, and it is also important because we get caught up in buy, buy, buy. This puts the Christ back in Christmas," he said.

Fr. Treml also pointed out that, for such a big production, the living nativities had been pretty free from glitches save one: "One year a sheep got away. Somebody saw it a couple of weeks later, but we never did figure out what eventually happened to it."