IFB Christmas

[Alaskagirl85]

My IFB church did a live nativity with the first pastor who was there when I started attending. He was from North Carolina, and I guess did not count on it being 12 degrees in North Idaho in December. It was a small church on a residential street, no street lights since it was a small town... I think the entire nativity was composed of his 8 children. They stood in costume for 2 hours on the dark sidewalk outside the church and not one person walked by. They even got hay and a live donkey. Thank God I had to work that night, so I couldn't participate, but I got to hear all about how frozen and miserable they were "in service for the Lord." I was just thinking.. oh good, my tithe money being used to rent a donkey...

[beth]

Christmas was just another chance for the Man O'gid to place more rules on us, and make everything else you knew about pre-fundy Christmas into a sin. One church we went to said having a Christmas tree was akin to breaking the first commandment. Frosty the Snowman was Baal's son. It was the MOG who convinced my dad to throw away the TV just before Christmas (we were already isolated because we lived out in the middle of nowhere, moved churches and schools every time we made any friends, so TV shows were one of the few things we had in common with other kids), so we didn't get to watch any of the holiday specials (which were actually the extent of our TV watching).
While I was in college, I joined my husband's fundy church. Their Christmas Eve service was always the same. The same people singing the same songs. Those people had to be of approved church pedigree, of the right last name, of the right schools. IF anyone else was allowed to participate, they were viewed as a charity case. Or they could sing in the choir, where they wouldn't be noticed. We won't go into the whole "Dour Christmas Cantata where someone always dies."

[notdrinkingthekoolaid]

(12-02-2011 12:26 PM)Tonx Wrote:  

(12-01-2011 03:33 PM)notdrinkingthekoolaid Wrote:  I can top ALLLLL Ya'll...

Ready for it....

I was baby Jesus!!

True story...I was about 5 months old on my first Christmas. My oldest sister was 11 1/2 at the time and cast as Mary. So I got to be a real live baby Jesus/prop.

Emoticons fail me...

The photo exists somewhere in my mom's possession. Even better...I am a GIRL...so baby Jesus was the wrong gender.

[BethD]

Not a Fundy church, but a funny live nativity story...

One year my pastor decided a live nativity complete with animals would be the way to go. Being on the fringes of a fairly large city in Arizona, it wasn't too difficult GETTING someone to let us use their donkeys. But Pastor was a city boy, from the deep south, and had no clue about donkeys. He was alone, getting some of the nativity set up when the donkeys (and there were 2) got away. He managed to get a hold of one of them, but the phrase "stubborn as an ass" has basis in fact. He could not lead the donkey back to its pen, and he could not get both donkeys at the same time. So he had to go back into the office, call someone to help him, praying that the donkeys didn't stray too far until he could get help. Fortunately for him, there was grass (it DOES grow in the desert) and other little green desert weeds for the donkeys to eat near the church so they didn't go far.

[BethD]

(12-01-2011 03:33 PM)notdrinkingthekoolaid Wrote:  I can top ALLLLL Ya'll...

Ready for it....














I was baby Jesus!!






True story...I was about 5 months old on my first Christmas. My oldest sister was 11 1/2 at the time and cast as Mary. So I got to be a real live baby Jesus/prop.

Did you poop, scream, or spit up on someone?

[notdrinkingthekoolaid]

Hmm...can't say I remember my performance, but the one picture my mom has of the event my hand is up. Mom says I moved around just enough so that you could tell it was a real baby and not a doll.