Miraculous Child,
The Nativity
The Second Story of The Christmas Cycle
First offered in 1983 as part of The Christmas Cycle at Christ Church Presbyterian in Burlington, Vermont, this well-known story focuses on the intimacy and experience of the birth of the Miraculous Child—a never before seen beauty that blesses everything and everyone with its holy presence.
Supported by parents, animals, angels, the elements, and the starry sky, the birth of this child heralds a new creation on the earth—in history, as well as in the present moment.
Miraculous Child, The Nativity was offered live in churches and performance spaces six times during the ongoing revolutions of The Christmas Cycle. The seventh offering occurred in 2021 during the second year of the Covid period when the story was filmed and presented online.
Oriented toward adults and children of every age, the film of Miraculous Child, The Nativity includes a pre-talk which precedes the story discussing the calendar of the Christmas season, its relationship to the natural world, and images from the story that offer opportunities for deepening and growing as a human being on the earth.
Some viewers have expressed a sense of wonder over their renewed experience of beauty and meaning from a story and holiday that had become empty for them.
Total length is 73 minutes. There is no intermission.
Appropriate for adults and children of all ages.
Music by Aurora Ancient Music, Mary Bonhag and Evan Premo
Testimonials
“Thank you for the hay light, layered luminescence of Pearl, for carved black of beast and their presence, for echo of inner celestial vibration, for awakening us to the meaning and depth of old stories within our culture.”
S.S., Vermont
“I love the way you told the story. I remember as a child hearing the story of the nativity and feeling such distance from it. That wasn't at all the case here. I truly felt a part of it. Absolutely beautiful.”
A.B., Florida
“I love that you did this virtually … It is quite amazing how, even though it is virtual, there is nevertheless a profound intimacy and sense of your presence, as though I am there with you.”
J.S., Vermont
“Your bringing us into the story and likening this yearly miracle to the possibility for wholeness and emergence in each of us allowed me, who feel little kinship typically with the Catholicism in which I was raised, to open my heart to this story that you have researched and re-connected with the Earth and seeds.”
J.C., Vermont
“Your performance was spectacular. The wood framing, the candles, the fluid motion of your hands throughout the telling of the story, the singing and the music that continued on through the credits was stunning.”
E.K., Washington
“Thank you for the beautiful story of the child—it really helped to draw me closer to the darkness and the light of the season, as well as the beauty alive in all of us.”
A.B., Vermont
“I appreciate your tying of the various aspects of earth, story and nature together, and how you explain—that you give a different view of the main story without the dogma.”
N.N., Vermont
Gallery
Images from the Film
Miraculous Child, The Nativity.
Please click a photo to enlarge.
Press
Explore Magazine, Winter 2021 — The Christmas Cycle: Miraculous Child, The Nativity
Click the image above to view the article.