By Karen Vance
Enquirer contributor

FLORENCE - What was it like for Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem?

That's the experience organizers of the "Walk to Bethlehem" at Florence Christian Church are hoping to share with families from all over the Tristate this weekend.

The event, a combination Christmas pageant and live Nativity scene, opened Friday night and continues again tonight at the church, 300 Main St.

"We wanted to provide something that was of no cost to families," said Pastor Jerry Zehr. "We wanted to do something different."

The walk, which takes about an hour, is an interactive presentation of five scenes. A travel guide takes groups of 10 to 15 visitors from scene to scene, beginning with Mary's visit to Elizabeth when she learns she is having a child.

The walk also depicts the choir of angels and the shepherds, Mary and Joseph's journey on a donkey to Bethlehem, the innkeeper announcing there is no room at the inn, the manger scene and the Bethlehem marketplace.

More than 60 members of the congregation participate as actors each night, including church member and Congressman Ken Lucas, who will play a Roman centurion. And the church also has 10 live animals, including camels arriving from a New York sanctuary for former circus animals.

The walk, in its second year, requires at least a week of set-up time for sets and scenery; volunteers created all the costumes.

The tour costs the church $3,000 to $4,000, but is absorbed into the 400-member congregation's outreach budget so it can be free to the public.

Last year, more than 800 guests took the tour. Pastor Zehr and his wife and co-pastor, Diane, brought the idea for the walk from their previous church.

"We came up with the idea from a marketplace experience in our vacation bible school classes, and it just grew from there," Pastor Zehr said.

Tours begin at 6:30 p.m. and run until about 9 p.m. To get to the church, take Interstate 75 to exit 180, Union/Florence, turn east. The church is about one mile away, at Main Street and U.S. 42.

For information, call (859) 647-5000.

`Christmas is Jesus'

The Gospel Baptist Church, 6477 Cooper Road, Montgomery, and the First Baptist Church, 4410 Alexandria Pike, Cold Spring, are presenting the musical Christmas is Jesus.

The musical includes a re-enactment of the Christmas story through music and drama. Both performances are free and open to the public.

The Gospel Baptist Church will present it at 7 p.m. today and at 6 p.m. Sunday. For information, call (513) 793-5583.

The First Baptist Church will perform the musical at 7 p.m. Dec. 21 and 6 p.m. Dec. 22. For information, call (859) 441-6184.

`The Other Wise Man'

Students at the Milford Christian Academy and the Adult Choir of the First Baptist Church of Milford, 1367 Woodville Pike, will present The Other Wise Man 7 p.m. today and 6 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are not required.

The drama tells the story of a fourth Magus, Artaban, who sells everything he has to buy gifts for Jesus but then loses the gifts. But he learns that his faithfulness is more important than the gifts.

For information, call (513) 575-1705.

AIDS expert to speak

Mamie Harris, the founder and director of 4Chairs, an AIDS testing, outreach and ministry center for those infected with HIV and AIDS, will speak at God's Provisions, 7426 Montgomery Road, Silverton, 8 p.m. Sunday.

Ms. Harris, who started the outreach center at Emmanuel's New Mount Zion Church in College Hill, will discuss the AIDS epidemic in the Cincinnati and Hamilton County area.

Karen Vance welcomes news about church and religious groups' activities. E-mail her at kvance@fuse.net, or fax to 513-755-4150.