| An invitation to visit our Manger scene for the Christ Child This is not the ‘traditional’ nativity scene. It is a place to come for remembering Loved Ones, Here is a brief story of how our Manger came about, and why we create it every year. My father passed away on a Christmas Eve morning, and each year I dreaded that time. Then I had an inspiration (maybe from above) to go to our stable and create a manger where Mary & Joseph could come to have their baby. Our 3 donkeys lived out there, so there would be room for their donkey also. Various animals followed me that day. They felt something special was happening and wanted to be a part of it, as were the animals in a stable long, long ago. Afterwards I felt full of Happiness. That evening (the 24th) we went out there to celebrate the birth of Jesus; and I felt Love, a feeling of Peace, and a sense of Closure. The next year we made some changes: Albert built a manger; we filled the area with straw and sweet smelling hay, added lights, music, and straw bales to sit on. We wanted it to be a special, quiet place where we - and our friends - could come and leave a remembrance note to a loved one -- a family member, friend, or beloved pet. It also is a place for giving Thanks and asking for Blessings. In the following days our manger was filled with notes, cards, scraps of paper with messages, some from complete strangers. Every time we went out there we felt there were Angles or ‘spirits’ filling our barn and bringing us comfort, and it was a way of telling us that the loved ones we had lost were still with us. Blessings this Christmas Season, Albert & Marilyn Campbell And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn." (St. Luke, II, 7.) |
| The very first Manger |
| Click on each picture for a larger size |
| 2008 Manger |