MARANA, Ariz. (KGUN) — Every Christmas season, Redeemer Lutheran Church and School in Marana hosts a drive-thru live nativity, which attracts hundreds of community members.
The free two-day event started on Friday and runs through Saturday from 6 pm to 8:30 pm at 8845 N. Silverbell Rd.
At Friday’s event cars were lined down Silverbell Rd. before the event even started.
Church members say it is a gift of love to the community. One of its organizers Andrea Dunn was emotional when talking about it because of how much it means to her.
“It brings our community together and we share God’s love,” she said. “It’s just a wonderful thing.”
It all started in 2013.
“A member of our congregation - their family was doing it at another church and she said, ‘Can we try it?’, Dunn said.
They’ve been doing it ever since and have seen it continuously grow. 150 people work each night to make it happen for the attendees who go through six different scenes.
A huge part of the event is the kids, who perform as part of the church’s “Angel Choir.” The kids say they take it very seriously.
“When they (attendees) walk in they’re surprised to see all of us singing and how many us there are and just singing God’s word and how good our faith is here and just how good we sing and everything,” 11-year-old Lucy Sewell said.
——
Madison Thomas joined KGUN 9 in July of 2023 as a multimedia journalist. She graduated from Arizona State University in May of 2023 with a degree in journalism and mass communication. She has lived in Arizona her entire life and grew up in Douglas. Madison is thrilled to share the stories from the community she grew up in. Share your story ideas and important issues with Madison by emailing madison.thomas@kgun9.com or by connecting on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.
