‘Walk Through Bethlehem’ starts November 29 at FCC

Tue, 11/20/2007 - 6:15pm
By: The Citizen

‘Walk Through Bethlehem’ starts November 29 at FCC

One of Fayette County’s most popular holiday events, “Walk through Bethlehem” at Fayetteville Christian Church, is set this year for Thursday through Sunday, Nov. 29- Dec. 2, at the church on Hickory Road in Fayetteville. The program will run Thursday from 6-8 p.m., Friday from 6-9 p.m., Saturday from 3-8 p.m., and Sunday from 1-6 p.m.

Thirty-minute guided tours leave every 10 minutes. Admission is free.

Several years ago, one local church decided that, amid the lights, sounds and spectacles of modern-day Christmas, what people needed most was authenticity — an opportunity to peel away modern noise and experience Bethlehem the way it was during Jesus’ time.

Since then, the Walk Through Bethlehem series at Fayetteville Christian Church has become one the region’s most popular annual events. More than 3,000 people passed through the gates of Bethlehem last year, and the church has created a new “walk” experience for 2007 that will delight visitors of every age.

Walk Through Bethlehem’s 2007 program features new drama and music, along with the hands-on village marketplace, a children’s favorite. Shepherds, wise men, Roman centurions and innkeepers — all are featured with amazing realism as they re-create key scenes from Jesus’ birth. Guests are invited to stay as long as they like in the village, interacting with artisans and shopkeepers, and making traditional toys, jewelry and pottery to take home as souvenirs. Visitors can also sample a variety of exotic, authentic foods.

Church members spend several months each year crafting a real, working village that looks and feels as it would have two thousand years ago. The entire town is enclosed behind high wooden walls, allowing visitors to cast off modern interruptions and enter a world they could have only imagined.

“Our guests are always amazed when they enter Bethlehem,” says senior pastor Dan Roberts. “They can let go of all of the hurry and worry of the holidays, and spend a little time breathing in the spirit of the times into which Jesus was born.”

Fayetteville Christian is at 114 Hickory Road in Fayetteville, at the corner of New Hope and Hickory. Call 770-461-8763 for more information.

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