An Auckland church drew 1500 people to its exhibition on the meaning of Christmas. St David’s in the Fields Church, in Hillsborough, created a journey from a contemporary New Zealand Christmas back to Bethlehem.
The church invited three local schools, which sent about 400 children as part of organised groups. The Rev Des Botting says many of the children returned with their parents for a second visit, with some of the schools’ principals even coming to look after hearing positive reports.
One family attended a service as a result seeing the exhibition.
The exhibition was open from 10am to 9pm each day and ran for six days. Its staging demanded a team effort, with nearly everyone in the congregation helping out in some way. Many people were involved in building props, while others ran an onsite cafe or guided school groups through the exhibits.
Mr Botting says the church ran a similar Christmas exhibition three years ago, although 2004’s project was a redesign rather than featuring the same material. Planning began in August, spearheaded by Mr Botting’s daughter, Jane Botting, and Philippa Pope, with regular meetings and different people taking responsibility for different parts of the process.
The first part of the exhibition focused on the 12 days of Christmas, from a New Zealand point of view. Highlights included a live eel in a fish tank.
Eventually people reached a giant gift box, wrapped in gold with a large bow, which they walked through to begin a journey from the Creation story, to Bethlehem and then to a reflection on “one solitary life” and the true meaning of Christmas.
The next section featured a group of the church’s young people, who staged a nativity play.
After seeing the exhibition, people could relax in the cafe while their children enjoyed a play area.
The cafe covered costs through small charges for food and drink, while visitors to the exhibition were asked for a silve rcoin donation.
Because the church’s interior was occupied by the exhibition, the Sunday service that fell during this time was held outside on the lawn, with a “bring your own blanket/ chair/sun umbrella” theme.
The Norfolk Island pine outside the church was made into a Christmas tree, drawing the attention of passers by.
A novel publicity campaign involving mallowpuffs decorated to look like Christmas puddings caught Television New Zealand’s attention, with a mention made during One News’ weather forecast.
An article was also run in the Central Leader newspaper.
Mr Botting says that while the exhibition is unlikely to be staged again this year, the church is keen to try again next year or in 2007.
“It’s something that we put on for the community to help communicate the real meaning of Christmas.”