From the Manger to the Cross
Photos By Jodi Bond and Ruthie Mullett
Bethlehem on the eve of the birth of Christ was brought to splendid life over the weekend in Oneida. Bethlehem Baptist Church, joined by several religious bodies, including First Baptist Church of Oneida, Winfield Baptist, New Haven, White Rock, and Big Ridge Churches, built structures to replicate the town, now a part of the West Bank of Palestine, including the synagogue and a tax collector, an essential element to the Nativity story. According to the Gospel of Luke, Caesar Augustus had ordered a census to gather data for taxation, and as Joseph was of the house of David, he and Mary traveled to the town to register, when Mary was great with child. Unable to find lodging, Mary delivered the Christ child in a manger – the culmination of the biblical events and the drive-thru tour in Oneida.
