Faith UMW making blankets; Live animal Christmas play

Faith UMW making blankets

LIBERTYVILLE ? The United Methodist Women of Faith United Methodist Church and other interested people will meet at 1:30 p.m. Monday to make fleece blankets to give to newborn babies through SIEDA.

Live Animal Christmas Play showings Dec. 9-11

WASHINGTON, Iowa ? Marion Avenue Baptist Church will present its free Live Animal Christmas Play Dec. 9-11.

The Dec. 9 showing is a private showing for the church?s bus ministry only.

There are open showings at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. Dec. 10 and Dec. 11. There is a ?large group, reservation only? showing at 2 p.m. Dec. 10, and a new showing at 2 p.m. showing Dec. 11.

The event in southeast Iowa started off very humbly 43 years ago, but has grown and expanded in both its theatrical technique and its popularity. The indoor play started as a small-scale production of the Christmas Story. Over the years, it has become a full-blown, technical production that has been said by many viewers to rival Sight and Sound Theatre in Branson, Missouri. The flying angel that drops 30 feet out of the auditorium ceiling on the same kind of flying system used by professional theatres across the country is just one example of the state-of-the-art special effects, lighting and sound that is used in this entirely church-member produced play.

The musical production draws in the audience making them feel as though they themselves are part of the story. Mary and Joseph come down the center aisle with a mule; a camel walks down an aisle to the stage; and soldiers, taxpayers, other characters often perform their parts as they move through the aisles. Among the animals included in the show are a cow, sheep, chickens, goats, a newborn calf, donkeys, llamas, doves, pigs and even a falcon.

People waiting to get into the auditorium for a showing of the play can enjoy a cup of hot chocolate, a homemade cookie, or a candy cane while they watch the reindeer, llamas, and camels in front of the church.

Marion Avenue Baptist Church performs the show as a Christmas gift to the community. Admission is free

For additional information, visit www.liveanimalchristmasplay.com or call 855-825-4113