Live Nativity program has been enduring tradition at St. Francis Health-Beech Grove

BEECH GROVE, Ind. – The scenes from that silent night so long ago in Bethlehem form the foundation of Christian faith for more than two millennia. And for more than five decades, those solemn vignettes have been reenacted at St. Clare Chapel at Franciscan St. Francis Health’s Beech Grove.

Dec. 12, 2011, will be especially poignant for the Franciscan St. Francis Health family. That date will mark the last time the Live Nativity will be presented at the Beech Grove facility, which is scheduled for closure in mid-March 2012 and inpatient services consolidated at the hospital’s Indianapolis campus.

“It’s been an important piece of our history,” said Shirley Fox, mission coordinator for the hospital’s Service Excellence Department who helps coordinate the annual event. “The chapel is filled with employees and their family members and hospital retirees, most of whom have met earlier at their annual Christmas Dinner.”

This year’s interfaith gathering begins at 1 p.m. with a call to worship and singing of O Come, O Come Emmanuel, which promises the birth of the Messiah. Readings offered by St. Francis employees and the singing traditional religious carols by the congregation mark the advent and arrival of the Christ child.

Employees also have played key roles in recalling the Nativity. Gathered around a stable near the altar are Joseph, Mary and the infant Jesus (often a staff member’s newborn), angels, shepherd and the Three Magi. A brief meditation is then offered, followed by the singing of O Little Town of Bethlehem.

This year’s program is open to the public.

But as one tradition comes to an end at Beech Grove another will take root during the 2012 Christmas season.

“We aim to preserve the Live Nativity program in the years to come at the Indianapolis campus,” Fox said.