Tabitha Pettit wants to take people into the past to perhaps spiritually change their present and their future.
She wants them to hear of the Biblical moment that Jesus of Nazareth was born in Bethlehem so long ago — and all from the Scriptural characters who would have recalled such a night that both culture and fervent faith have heralded as holy.
So it will be when her and her husband Scott’s Such a Time As This church host a holiday walk-through dramatization and outreach called “The Miracle of Jesus” scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday and from 4 to 6 p.m. Dec. 23 at 606 Cleveland St. in Columbus.
The layout is planned to include representations of period Bethlehem shops that include a toy store, a spice outlet, a wool shop a bakery and more. In fact, church member Brian Fisher was working only days ago to complete a handmade wooden boat to adorn a makeshift fishing pier.
Visitors will begin at a manger scene and then progress to Bethlehem 33 years later as people reminisce about Jesus’ birth and impact.
This concept, fueled by the efforts of about 20 volunteers, is something of a follow-up walk-though-Bethlehem experience the couple organized two years ago at another church.
“We’re still a fairly new church on Cleveland Street,” Pettit said, emphasizing that the ministry that the duo lead is only a year old. “But God has blessed us with a great congregation of workers. They really like to work. Everything is really coming together beautifully.”
Same as last year when the church hosted a live Nativity, though a bitter cold snap postponed the scene until New Year’s Eve. This year, the couple is able to re-use the stable that Scott Pettit built himself last year from the trees on their property.
“Ideally, we’d like to see 50 to 100 people visit each day, and I think that would be just fabulous,” Pettit said. “But with it so close to the actual holiday weekend, we really don’t know, since a lot of people could be out of town then.
“I do believe, though, that there are families who like to get together and go out and find things like this to do.”
She acknowledged fabulous help from church members such as Fisher.
“I do wood projects all the time,” Fisher said of his latest plywood creation that he began about three weeks ago. “But this is the first time I have ever built a boat.”
The craft is 8-feet-long and 2-feet wide. He is the same helper who painted the Bethlehem village gates two years ago.
“This is just my way of giving back to the church,” Fisher said of his handyman skills. “And I really like doing things to help the kids.”
He is open-ended and open-minded about people’s reaction to the weekend layout and setup.
“I don’t really have any specific expectations,” Fisher said.
For Pettit, her perspective seems as humble as a stable setting birth.
“I just want people to know the purpose and the meaning of Jesus’ birth,” she said. “These kinds of things are sort of what we are becoming known for, though some might say I go a little overboard with my ideas at times.”
