Local church once again putting on live nativity scenes
By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Photo Courtesy of Loralee Laycock
Strathmore’s Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is once again putting on performances of the Nativity Scene for the local community.
The performances are 15 minute acted representations of the story of the birth of Jesus Christ. This year marks the third time members of the church’s congregation have put on these performances.
“We started in 2019 and then took a year off in 2020 because of COVID-19. Last year, we did it again and we will do it again this year,” said Loralee Laycock, who spoke on behalf of the church.
“We’ve had really positive responses and lots of attendance to the community. Last year, we had about 700 people in total come to see it.”
The performances will run over two nights this year on Dec. 17-18. Both days will feature four shows per night, which will begin at 6 p.m., 6:30 p.m., 7 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Laycock added attendance to last year’s shows was higher than in 2019, though she described breaking the show during the height of the pandemic effectively caused the team to have to start advertising and spreading awareness from scratch.
“It is all volunteers. Members of our congregation are the actors, and also run the lighting, the sound, operate the sets, and we also have animals,” said Laycock. “We have a donkey, a pony, and some sheep, and they are all loaned to us by members of our congregation.”
For those who are putting on the show, Laycock explained they had one rehearsal together in November prior to their dress rehearsal one week prior to the shows.
She added now that the performances have been hosted a few times and those in the congregation know to expect it, whole families are making a point to get involved together for the holiday season.
“It is a really exciting thing to see people want to come back and do this. We have lots of youth involved, several teenagers who are angels, and they love to come back and do it from one year to the next,” said Laycock. “It gives our whole congregation a chance to celebrate Christmas in the way that we believe is really important – celebrating the birth of Christ and how Christmas is centred around that.”
The shows will take place outside the church itself, along Maplewood Drive, for those who are interested in attending any of the performances.