Gig Harbor Undressed

Living Nativity Scene at Gig Harbor’s Discovery Baptist Church

I have to admit I wasn’t prepared for what I discovered at Discovery Baptist Church’s living nativity scene.  Discovery Baptist, located at 4902 Gustafson Dr NW, is hosting their annual Living Nativity Scene.  It runs Friday the 14th through Sunday the 16th from 6-8pm.  I had read that over 150 live characters and animals make up this great event, but I guess I didn’t put that in proper perspective.  I thought we’d drive up, see some smiling wise men and a few donkeys, wonder if the baby Jesus was real or a doll, and move on.

I was wrong.  When you enter Discovery Baptist’s parking lot, you enter Bethlehem.  Beginning with the Roman guard taking the census and demanding how many are in your party, through the market places and tax collectors, you are really transported to another time.  Animals, guards, bakers, children and more walk in and amongst your car, offering you spices, bread, and more.  My best advice is to park and walk through the scene, you’ll get much more from it.  I made the mistake of taking our 2 month old baby and our dog, thinking it’d be a quick trip.  Not a good idea to roll through Bethlehem with a screaming baby and a confused, protective dog.  My sister-in-law (who just earned a 3.8GPA her first quarter at Cal Poly SLO!), made the great observation that we had our own nativity scene…”The mother Mary (my wife), Joseph (me), Baby Jesus (Reese), the animals (Seb), and a wise woman (Kami)”!  

We’re very excited to walk through Bethlehem next year with our 1-year old daughter and taste the bread, view the videos, and interact more with the characters.

 For more information on all of the details, please visit Discovery Baptist’s website.