Columbia church shares live nativity on a silent, starry night

“Where’s the cow?” 4-year-old Bristol Albright whispered from beneath a princess-printed blanket, as an instrumental version of “What Child Is This?” played.

Then it was a silent night for just a moment, before a narrator invited a crowd outside northeast Columbia’s Living Springs Lutheran Church to pause to consider the night of the birth of Jesus.

Beneath a cold, clear, starry sky, a live nativity unfolded, celebrating the Christmas story in a fashion as simple as Jesus’ birth was humble.

There were no frills as several dozen church members – and a cow and a donkey and a few sheep and goats, too – re-enacted for the third straight year the events leading up to the night Christians celebrate as part of the Christmas holiday.

Bristol’s favorite part of the story was Mary giving birth to the baby – “John!” she said at first. “No, Jesus!” her mother reminded her.

With Bristol and her parents, Jennifer and Phil Albright, was her friend, 7-year-old Trey Miller, who said this was his first time hearing or seeing the nativity story.

“It was good to see them both interested,” Jennifer Albright said.

Each year, the church has tried to emphasize a different part of the story, said Steven Padgett, who portrayed Joseph in the program. This year, special attention was given to the common townspeople, he said.

“They’re not necessarily realizing they were part of something and sharing in history,” Padgett said. “The story is timeless, and there ware so many people in the story who play different parts that may not have even known it at the time.”

Sharing the meaning of the holiday is what gave Padgett and his wife, Kathryn, joy in acting in the program, they said. Kathryn played the role of an angel, and their two children, 4-year-old Mallory and 13-year-old Austin, also played parts.

“It’s just a wonderful way to remember the whole reason of Christmas and why we do what we do,” Kathryn Padgett said. “So to share that joy with those that come to watch it is just a wonderful experience.”

It was important to Gretchen Barron that her sons have a chance to experience the story of Jesus’ birth in a way different from a traditional Christmas play, she said.

The Christmas story “means everything,” Barron said, as her sons, 3-year-old Hilton and 10-year-old James, petted the nativity animals after the program with their friend, 10-year-old Ty Ochoa.

“It’s why we live, why we exist – because of the birth of Christ and the freedom that we have and the liberty and the blessings that we experience every day. Without him we’re nothing,” Barron said.