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Church Welcomes All To Drive By

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By D'ANN LAWRENCE WHITE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 15, 2007

BRANDON - It would take a DeLorean and the flux capacitor from the movie "Back to the Future" to take a ride back in time and observe the events surrounding the nativity story 2,000 years ago.

However, Brandon residents don't have to resort to film magic. They can simply hop into their Toyotas, Fords and Volkswagens and experience a re-creation of the nativity story from the comfort of their cars, courtesy of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Brandon.

As its gift to the community, the church, at 818 N. Parsons Ave., a mile north of State Road 60, is presenting "The Road to the Manger," a drive-through nativity. The event opened Friday and will continue from 6:30 to 9 p.m. today and Sunday.

Residents will drive by scenes from the Bible portrayed by actors from the church while tuning into music on their car radios performed live by the church choir.

The church's assistant pastor, the Rev. Bill Johnson, brought the mission to the church three years ago in the hopes of sharing the nativity story with more people during the Christmas season.

"I'd seen this done before, and we realized we had this big, long frontage on Parsons that would be perfect for a drive-through nativity," he said. "We were lucky to have a church member who is a radio tech person who was able to broadcast our choir over the radio."

Unlike the Walk Through Bethlehem hosted by Kings Avenue Baptist Church in Brandon for more than 20 years, Johnson noted that "The Road to the Manger" takes only about 30 minutes.

"People can tack it onto their Christmas shopping or tour of Christmas lights," he said.

The production includes five scenes with 40 to 50 actors, as well as cows, donkeys and Roman soldiers on horseback. Patrick Reidy was in charge of constructing the panels for the scenes, something he has experience with. He worked eight years on the Walk Through Bethlehem when Central Baptist Church hosted it.

"We take it beyond the manger scene and include the moment the angel appears to Mary and then to Joseph," Johnson said. "At the end, there is also a PowerPoint presentation on the death and resurrection of Christ."

The 30-member choir will perform each night.

"It takes about 130 volunteers to put this thing together," said Johnson, noting that the church has about 275 regular congregation members. "But we have a good time. We really enjoy doing this for the community. We can reach more people this way than we could with an event in the sanctuary."

That's evidenced in the number of people who attend each year. The first year the church attracted 335 cars and 927 people, the second year 687 cars and 1,735 people.

Afterward, visitors can continue on their way or stop at a tent to have a complimentary photo taken and receive an information packet and candy canes.

DRIVE-THROUGH NATIVITY

Cornerstone Baptist Church, 818 N. Parsons Ave., Brandon, presents "The Road to the Manger," a drive-through nativity from 6:30 to 9 p.m. today and Sunday.

For information, call (813) 689-3325.

Reporter D'Ann Lawrence White can be reached at (813) 657-4524 or dlwhite@tampatrib.com.

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