Be Part of the Greatest Story Ever Told

The Bethlehem Walk, a free guided outdoor walk through Tulsa’s most exciting realistic nativity, will be held December 1-4 at Christview Christian Church.

Christview Christian Church presents the 13th annual Bethlehem Walk to the Tulsa community December 1-4 at their campus at 2525 S. Garnett. Bethlehem Walk is a 45-minute guided outdoor walking tour through Tulsa’s most exciting and realistic nativity. The path is lighted, and there are golf carts available for the handicapped or disabled.

Longtime Christview Christian Church members Jim and Paula Scott have served as directors of the Bethlehem Walk committee for the past several years. This presentation features a cast of nearly 200 authentically dressed Roman soldiers, beggars, lepers, heavenly angels, shepherds, Mary, Joseph and the Christ Child. The church maintains a costume room with more the costumes made as authentically as possible.  

Reservations are requested, and large groups are welcome. On Thursday evening, December 1, guides will be available to ­interpret in Spanish. Admission is free, and Bethlehem Walk attracts viewers from a six-state area. Last year, more than 2,400 guests attended.

Individuals and groups ­congregate in the church’s ­auditorium. Everyone is then assigned to a family and a guide who is also the “family head.” Some participants will be given Roman coins with which to pay taxes as they enter Nazareth. You may even be “hassled” by Roman guards along the road as you march to Bethlehem. You will readily figure out, everyone becomes part of the production. A tax collector receives your family’s taxes, and your family representative will be asked to “make his mark” in the record book. Don’t try to hold back any coins for yourself – tax collectors can get nasty!  

Along your route you will encounter angels with silvery white robes and shepherds kneeling in fields. You will visit three wise men and their camels and will be asked if you have seen the star in the east. As you enter the bazaar area, you will enjoy tasting some of the food samples. There will be shops with baskets, jewelry, fruit and nuts, rugs and more. Half the fun of the evening is interacting with the characters, especially when the shepherds invite you to join them at their camp to enjoy their nice, warm fire.

As you journey on, you will likely see beggars and lepers. Please don’t touch! To do so is “punishable by death.”  

You will discover that there are no rooms available in Bethelem. One innkeeper announces that he actually put up a man and his wife with child in a stable down the street. It was the last available vacancy in the city.  

Near the end of your walk, you will fast-forward 33 years as you encounter three crosses on a hillside and visit the tomb area where the body of Christ the Savior has gone missing. An angel will appear and read an appropriate scripture.

At the conclusion of your walk, you are invited back to Fellowship Hall, where you will visit homes and courtyards of ancient times. Children may make a fabric doll, play games, and pet rabbits and chickens, while everyone is welcome to enjoy cider and cookies.

The evening is entertaining and educational for all, plus a tremendous outreach to the Tulsa community by Christview Christian Church.

The reservations hotline is (918) 232-3587. Operators are on duty from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. each day, or you may send a text message anytime and an operator will contact you and schedule your time. You may also visit the website, click the Special Events link, and make your reservation. The Bethlehem Walk will be held December 1-2 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and December 3-4 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. 

 

For more information, contact

Christview Christian Church

2525 S. Garnett
Tulsa, OK 74129

(918) 232-3587

www.christviewchristian.com