With the true reason we celebrate Christmas firm in their minds, a group of people from several Logan County churches decided to take on a monumental task for the Bellefontaine Hometown Christmas Parade on Friday, Dec. 8 — create a series of floats depicting the birth of Jesus Christ.
Based on a dream over eight years old, Bellefontaine residents Randy and Tyan Lambert finally presented the possibility to Jeff Willetts, their pastor at Calvary Baptist Church, earlier this year.
Fortunately, Tyan said with a laugh, “he’s as crazy as we are and thought it was a great idea.” They just didn’t imagine how crazy the plan was.
What they did realize, however, was that what they had in mind needed to be a community effort with a heavenly goal — to glorify God by sharing the miracle of Christmas.
After chronicling the six scenes and what should happen, they went around to area churches, asking if they wanted to participate. This turned out to be an easy task because, Tyan added, “It’s the redemption story, and we all agree Jesus is the one who transforms lives.”
Besides Calvary, five other churches signed up: Vineyard Christian Fellowship, Church of God, Harper Community Church, Common Grounds and, strictly behind the scenes, Christ Our King.
This help was vital to making the endeavor a success, but even that had its challenges. Dave Schwieterman, who led the team at Vineyard, said communication and coordination was a large undertaking. The groups mostly stayed in touch through e-mail.
“Each church was to provide leadership teams in five areas: prayer, building, costumes, walking and music,” Schwieterman explained. “Everyone stepped up and worked tirelessly over the last few months to make this all happen.”
For the most part, each church had a different segment of the biblical account to focus on in bringing the nativity to life. Overall, though, they see this as a community project inspired by God and not about any one particular church.
Nearly a hundred people will be a part of the procession Friday night. From Roman soldiers announcing the census that would send Mary and Joseph away from their home to the wisemen following a star, they hope to cover the key elements of the New Testament narrative.
Live music and narration, thanks to assistance from RISE FM and the Peak of Ohio, plus horses, a chariot … and a few other surprises, will also be included.
Speaking of surprises, Tyan learned not every animal can walk in a parade. Getting them to do what the organizers want will be its own challenge.
“It will either be really great or go really south,” Tyan admitted with a laugh. “We might just be the biggest fiasco that ever happened in Bellefontaine. But we’ve had prayer warriors on animal cooperation for three months now.”
Still, hope runs strong that this will accomplish their ultimate goal. As Schwieterman said, “We want to see the hearts of our community impacted by the light of Jesus Christ.”
Though originally scheduled for the first Friday of the month, the parade, and all the holiday activities included, was moved to this Friday, Dec. 8, to avoid inclement weather. And it looks like that was a good call as Friday’s forecast remains promising.
The switch, however, was a mix of good and bad for those involved in the church presentation. Of course some people had to drop out due to other commitments. But, on the positive side, the family handling the horses, who were dealing with illness last week, are now on the mend.
“And God knew we needed more time,” Tyan added.
Narration for the procession can be accessed through the QR code provided here, which will also be posted in several locations during the parade.
The Bellefontaine Hometown Christmas Parade will start at the Logan County Fairgrounds at 6 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 8, and make its way downtown. Free pre- and post-parade fun will start at 4 p.m. and go until 8.
Stop by the Logan County Chamber of Commerce for your complimentary activities passport and to see all downtown Bellefontaine has to offer during this annual Christmas tradition.
Max Howard stands on top of the Vineyard Christian Fellowship float during construction this fall. This serves as one of six scenes depicting the birth of Christ to be presented on Friday, Dec. 8, during the Hometown Christmas Parade in Bellefontaine. Vineyard is one of six churches working together to bring the nativity to life. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)
