02/21/2017
Thanks to everyone who attended A Bethlehem Experience 2016 and to everyone who helped make our first annual Christmas event a big success!
Guests gathered at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in West Dundee and then ventured outside on guided tours to journey 2,000+ years back in time and back to Bethlehem where Jesus was born. Tours ran Friday and Saturday evening during the second weekend of Dickens in Dundee and a light snow added some real Christmas magic especially on Saturday night.
On each thirty minute journey, visitors were treated to live playlets featuring many members from Bethlehem reenacting moving moments from the life and times of Jesus. Guests were there when...
• An Angel Appears to Mary
• Mary & Josep Find No Room at the Inn
• Shepherds Hear the Good News
• Shepherds Behold Their Savior
• Kings Follow His Star
• Jesus is Grace, Forgiveness and Love
Guests' journeys ended back in 2016–back at a modern-day garage right across the street from Bethlehem Lutheran Church where a struggling family desperately needed Jesus' Grace, Forgiveness and Love in their lives. Did Joe head to his man cave to celebrate another W or to just escape while Mary packed her bags? What about their daughter Jesse caught in the middle? Did this family even see–much less celebrate–Christmas this year?
If you joined us, you know what Jesus meant to this all-too-common family and hopefully A Bethlehem Experience 2016 warmed your heart and reminded everyone about the true meaning of Christmas and today's Savior.
After each outdoor tour, guests were invited back inside for a Christmas celebration complete with treats and goodies, kiddie crafts, cookie decorating, Selfies with Santa and a few extra Christmas surprises.
We look forward to seeing everyone again next year and invite you to tell all of your 2,017 facebook friends to join us for Christmas in 2017! We have plans to make A Bethlehem Experience 2017 even bigger and better so make a note in your December calendars today!
Watch http://bethlehemdundee.org and http://dickensindundee.org for more details as Christmas nears.
We host multiple Dickens in Dundee events at Bethlehem during the first week of Dickens. For example, in 2016, Shepherds headed to Bethlehem were at the Dicken's celebration in the park across the street from Bethlehem. Dicken's guests were playing games, doing crafts, sitting on Santa's lap, enjoying all the specially decorated Christmas trees and petting dozens of sheep and goats and other animals including a little lamb that was lost and back in its Shepherd's arms. Bethlehem's Shepherds invited everyone to our luncheon, bake sale and the Dickens of a Sale hosted across from the park at Bethlehem. Everyone was also invited to join our live nativity performances and guided tours during week two of Dickens in Dundee.
Bethlehem Dundee's second annual special Christmas event–A Bethlehem Experience 2017–is already in the works. Plans are underway to build on our memorable and moving first two-night event and warm even more hearts in 2017. If you enjoyed 2016, you should enjoy 2017 even more with some new scenes, actors, costumes and more paired again with updated 2016 favorites.
The 2017 experience is tentatively scheduled for the second weekend of Dickens in Dundee again.
If you see a little snow in the forecast that should be even more reason to come out and join us. And, please bring the kids–little ones love the snow, the Christmas story, live outdoor shows and guided tours and warming up inside with Selfies with Santa and all the cookies, goodies and crafts!
Thanks again to everyone who brought A Bethlehem Experience 2016 to life and to all who joined us for a journey to Bethlehem. Merry Christmas!
P.S. Tag all those great photos/vids/posts to share your experience at
2016 Web Page:
http://bethlehemdundee.org/a-bethlehem-experience-2016
