Living Nativity switches to drive-in style at All Nations Church this year

Despite the pandemic, a holiday season staple in Greater Sudbury will still go ahead this year, but with a few changes.

All Nations Church will again present The Living Nativity, a live re-telling of the Christmas story set to a soundtrack.

The production will be done drive-in style says Brandon Martel, communications director for the church.

To accommodate all the vehicles, the nativitywill move to the All Nations Church property on St. Raphael Street. It had been held on the grounds of Science North in previous years.

The production will be streamed on large outdoor screens and spectators can listen on their FM car radios.

"Ultimately, it would appear that we're going to be having anywhere from 100 to 150 cars per night, which is a big drop from size in previous years, but we're still excited to be able to offer it once again," Martel said.

"With so many events being cancelled nowadays, given the restrictions, we just weren't sure that we could conduct it in a safe way, but after meeting with our team and talking to the public health unit we ultimately decided that we could do it safely."

As a church, Martel says it was the message of hope, which the Christmas story provides, that helped sway the final decision to go ahead this year.

"We think that the hope that Jesus brought into the world can be attained by anyone and so we really think that it's important if you've never been to it before, even if you're not a Christian, even if you've never walked into a church before, this production is going to be great," he said.

"It's one of those traditions that we feel just needs to continue."

This 33rd edition of TheLiving Nativity will run at 7:30 p.m. from December 20 to 24, with fireworks set off after the production on Christmas Eve.