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Wednesday, November 28,2018
dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 5A
More than 1,000 Nativity scenes to fill church this weekend
File photo
A Nativity scene is displayed during the Festival of
Nativity at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints in Gainesville Dec. 3, 2015.
Festival of the Nativity
Where: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
Day Saints, 1234 Riverside Drive, Gainesville
When: 6 to 9 p.m. Nov. 29 through Dec. 1
and 3 to 9 p.m. Dec. 2
How much: Free
By Layne Sabila
DCN Regional Staff
Many people can
remember a time during
their childhood when they
stood in the sanctuary at
church and acted out the
Christmas story. Some
might have even stood
outside in a stable — no
matter the temperature —
as Mary, Joseph, Jesus, a
wise man, shepherd or
angel while a donkey,
camel or sheep grazed
nearby.
The Nativity scene, syn
onymous with Christmas
and depicting Jesus’ birth,
is likely still a staple in
your grandmother’s home,
your mother’s home and
maybe even your own.
But if it’s something you
want to see a little more
of, The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-Day
Saints’ Festival of the
Nativity has you covered.
“We are setting up over
1,000 Nativity sets in the
church,” said George
Wangemann, the church’s
ward mission leader.
“We’re going to fill up the
gym, we’re going to fill up
some rooms inside the
church, and then we’ve
got another room ... I’m
expecting between 1,100
and 1,200 Nativity sets at
our festival.”
The event at 1234
Riverside Drive in
Gainesville is set for 6 to
9 p.m. Nov. 29 through
Dec. 1 and 3 to 9 p.m.
Dec. 2 is free and open to
all.
“Eleven years ago, we
had an outdoor Nativity
with animals in it and that
was kind of the highlight
of our Nativity experience
at church,” Wangemann
said. “And the very first
year we had the outdoor
nativity, we also had an
indoor Nativity, but it only
had 30 displays in it. And
compared to the number
we have today, that’s
almost nothing.”
He said people would
simply drive through the
parking lot and see the
live Nativity, but no one
came in. Now, the event
draws more than 2,500
people into the church to
walk through and see each
Nativity scene.
“This is going to be a
community event, and it’s
very family-centered,”
Wangemann said. “It’s
Christ-centered, and so it
brings out the real mean
ing of Christmas in hopes
of getting people to think
back as much as they pos
sibly can about what that
real meaning is and how it
affected them in the past
as well as in our current
time.”
While the Nativity
scenes are used for the
church, many of them
belong to Wangemann and
his wife, Judy. They store
them at their home and
had to use a 26-foot
enclosed truck to transport
them to the church. He
said it takes about three
weeks and 40 people’s
help to set everything up.
“That’s going to be the
most difficult thing of all
the things we do,”
Wangemann said. “That’s
to set them up in a way
that creates a mood or an
atmosphere of Christmas.”
Although Wangemann
said he and his wife would
have been happy with a
dozen or so Nativities for
themselves, they started
collecting for the event
and encouraged others to
do the same. Because of
that, they’re able to bor
row from other collections
to make the event that
much bigger.
The festival of the
Nativity is used by many
as a yearly tradition, and
that’s why Wangemann
said he likes to see it con
tinue every year. He said
it’s not an event “for the
purpose of converting
anyone to our religion,”
but a way to help the com-
munity enjoy the
Christmas season.
“This is one of our pas
sions,” Wangemann said.
“I know many people in
the community here, and
they are great, great peo
ple who we have a great
love and respect for. We’re
just trying to return some
thing to them.”
Nick Bowman DCN Regional Staff
Levi Horrocks helps assemble Nativity sets at the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-Day Saints Nov. 19 on Riverside Drive.The church is once again host
ing a huge display of Nativity scenes in late November and early December.
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