By: Vicky Bowlin | Category: In Our Communities | Issue: December 2015
Experience the greatest story ever told at Christview Christian Church’s Bethlehem Walk, a free outdoor walk through a living nativity.
Experience the true story of Christmas at Christview Christian Church’s Bethlehem Walk, a free outdoor walk through a living nativity.
Christview Christian Church, located at 2525 S. Garnett in Tulsa, is pleased to present the 17th annual Bethlehem Walk to the community. The Bethlehem Walk is a 45-minute guided outdoor walking tour through an exciting and realistic nativity scene. The path is lighted, and golf carts are available for those who are handicapped or disabled. Performances will be held Thursday and Friday, December 3 and 4 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, December 6 and 7 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
The presentation features a cast of more than 150 authentically dressed Roman soldiers, beggars, lepers, heavenly angels, shepherds, and Mary, Joseph and the Christ Child. The church maintains a costume room with hundreds of costumes made as authentically as possible. Live camels, sheep and donkeys add to the authenticity of the greatest story ever told.
Reservations are requested, and large groups are welcome. Admission is free. The Bethlehem Walk attracts thousands of attendees each year from a multi-state area.
Individuals and groups congregate in the church’s auditorium. Everyone is assigned to a family and a guide who is also the “family head.” Some participants will be given Roman coins to pay taxes with as they enter Nazareth. You may even be hassled by Roman guards along the road as you march to Bethlehem. You will soon 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, you will enjoy tasting some of the food samples. The bazaar area houses several 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 Bethlehem. 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 from the 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 farm animals, 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. All general reservations should be made online at www.christview.org. If you have trouble registering online, please call (918) 232-3587. Christview will also be accepting donations of new, unwrapped toys for the children in our community throughout the event.
(918) 232-3587
2525 S. Garnett | Tulsa, OK 74129
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www.christview.org
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