‘Living Nativity’ Tours

Presented by: Sequim Valley Nazarene Church

When: 4-8 p.m., Saturday Dec. 9 and Dec. 16

Where: Sequim Valley Nazarene Church, 481 Carlsborg Road, Sequim

Cost: Free, open to the public

Sequim Valley Nazarene Church is starting a new Christmas tradition this year with a “Living Nativity” tour church officials hope to continue for years to come.

The program features a guided tour that will run every hour at 4, 5, 6 and 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 9 and Dec. 16. Each tour lasts about 40-45 minutes and runs through six separate scenes of the Christmas story with live actors and animals.

Pastor Jerry Luengen said that, to his knowledge, Sequim Nazarene is the only church in town that is doing a live nativity scene this year.

“I had been part of a church many years ago that did this successfully,” Luengen said. “We thought it would be a really cool part of our community and so we decided to take it on.”

Luengen said the church paved a wood chip trail that runs through the property to each stage where one scene will play the Christmas story.

“The biggest effort we took was building the trail,” Luengen said. “The goal was to build something that can be redone every year.”

Luengen said there will be 21 actors and a variety of live animals including a horse, camel, sheep and goats.

While he hopes this program will be a new tradition for the church each year, Luengen said the reason for starting the “Living Nativity” tour is to focus on the real meaning of Christmas.

Tours will continue rain or shine and Luengen said the church has purchased umbrellas for guests in the event that it rains.

Guests may park at Greywolf Elementary School near the intersection of Carlsborg and US Highway 101 and will be bused to the church from the school. The church asks guests plan to arrive at least 15 minutes before each tour.

Snacks and beverages will be provided at the church while guests are waiting for the tours to start.

The tour is free and open to the public and is designed for both big and small tour groups.

To learn more about the nativity tour, visit www.sequimchurch.org/.