The birth of Jesus Christ portrayed in 119 different crèches at East Lyme church
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Dec. 17—EAST LYME — The Star of Bethlehem, as it was written in the Bible's Book of Matthew, was said to have appeared in the sky during the birth of Jesus Christ.
At the "Journey to Bethlehem ... a Nativity Display" event in the nave of St. Matthias Church Sunday, the stars yielded a similar purpose ― beckoning nearly 100 guests to examine 119 unique crèches (pronounced kreSH), or representations of Nativity scenes, from all over the world.
"They represent countries, families of origin, people's favorite places people have visited," said Jane Woodmansee, a 15-year member of the parish and co-chair and organizer of the event.
It was the first time since 2014 that Woodmansee and other members of the St. John XXIII Catholic Community, which comprises the East Lyme parish along with St. Agnes parish in Niantic, had opened the event to the public, said Lucine Schiller, co-chair organizer of the event. Most of the crèches on display Sunday were temporarily donated by members of the two parishes, she added.
"The Christmas Nativity crèche has been an important part of Western Christianity for 800 years," the community wrote in a program it handed out to church guests Sunday.
"The scenes were developed by St. Francis of Assisi in Italy as a way for everyday people to connect with Jesus and see his modest beginnings. Over the centuries, crèches have developed into large and ornate structures as well as simple folk pieces for homes."
On Sunday, clothed tables had been set up beyond the rows of pews and the pulpit. Atop them sat flickering tealights, sprigs of pine and holly, and the crèches, each one with a placard that denoted who had donated it and how they had acquired or built it.
"There are little anecdotes in front of each crèche," Schiller said.
Schiller, reflecting on the varying origins of the crèches, explained that some had been gifts from family, while others had been purchased by parishioners while they were abroad. Others had been inherited, passed down for generations.
Schiller had donated a few of the crèches herself, including a palm-sized crèche carved of wood.
"This small souvenir spent the Christmas of 2015 on the windowsill of my husband's hospital room at L+M," the inscription in front of the crèche read. "It was his last Christmas."
Another of Schiller's crèches had come from Germany. Not your usual Nativity scene, the crèche was crafted in the shape of a pyramid, and had candles underneath that rotated the figures of Mary, Jesus and Joseph inside.
Besides Germany, other crèches had come from Italy, Mexico, Japan, Israel, Peru, Poland, the Philippines, Palestine, Switzerland and Guatemala.
"They represent countries, families of origin, people's favorite places people have visited," Schiller said.
Schiller said she had told someone "how amazing it is ― the different interpretations of the Bethlehem scene. And you see all sorts of different interpretations. The basic figures are there but they are all artistically painted differently."
"Someone made the comment to me this morning that the crèches are as unique as the people who put them in," she added.
Catholics celebrate the season of Advent, the four weeks prior to Christmas, said Schiller.
"It's a season of preparation, when we prepare to celebrate Christ's birthday. And it's very easy to get caught up in spending too much money, and throwing lots of parties and all the material trappings of Christmas. Which, they're all worthwhile as well," Schiller said.
She said the event is to remind guests of the original intent of the holiday, to celebrate the birth of Christ, and serves as "one way to actually physically take those steps on a journey to Bethlehem, seeing all those crèches and putting ourselves in a spiritual mindset."
Father Greg Mullaney, who has served as pastor for both churches for about five years, offered a blessing of the crèches.
"I find the most joy in seeing the reactions of other people to the Nativity scenes. Because it's an interactive faith activity," Mullaney said. "And hopefully in some small way this afternoon will bring people a little bit closer to a deeper understanding of the mystery of Christmas."
Meanwhile, East Lyme resident Carol Hallas, was back for the second time after attending the first event in 2014, said she really enjoyed seeing the variety.
"You know, you get to see them from all over the world," she said. "That's not common."
