MIDDLEBURG, Pa. — Later this week, a barn at Middlecreek Farms near Middleburg will look different. Volunteers are setting up for the live nativity at Middlecreek Farms.
"It's a way to tell the Christmas story as realistically as we know how. This is not a professional production. We have 80 to 100 volunteers," said Pastor Solomon Shaffer.
The event is run by Beavertown God's Missionary Church. The live nativity is interactive, and attendees are part of the story.
"Actors will be traveling with you; you'll be interacting with them. They'll be acting around you. It's just a very immersive thing. There's nine different scenes and you're part of all of them," said Pastor Shaffer.
Pastor Shaffer says this takes months to prepare for. Typically, around 2,000 people walk through the live nativity during the three-night event.
Jeremy Reese has helped out since he was a teenager. Now, his children are involved, too.
"I have helped on and off throughout the years, and it's been a wonderful thing to bring my family along, along with so many others who have had such an integral part of making the live nativity happen," Reese said.
This year's theme is "Behold the Lamb."
"They'll begin with a lamb, and they'll find this lamb in Bethlehem. It will end with the lamb in the last scene, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world," the pastor explained.
Reese's family is providing the lambs.
"The dream and idea for this came even before last year's live nativity, and here we are so excited to share," Reese said.
The live nativity is free, but donations are accepted. The event runs Thursday and Friday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.