Snow brings Christmas feel to New Kensington church's live nativity

The snow didn’t keep The United Presbyterian Church of New Kensington from staging its second annual live nativity early Saturday afternoon.

Rather than a possible impediment, the Rev. Becca Siddle saw it as a feature.

“For people in the neighborhood, it’s perfect because snow means Christmas,” she said.

But the stars of the nativity, as it was for the first one last year, was likely the farm animals from Quack A Doodle Doo, a mobile barnyard petting zoo in Allegheny Township.

This year, they brought two sheep, a donkey and a calf for the nativity, which was set up in a grassy lot the church owns near the church on Fifth Avenue.

“Just the idea of having these farm animals here in the middle of this urban neighborhood seemed perfect,” Siddle said. “Many of these children have not seen any animals other than dogs and cats.”

Siddle portrayed Mary while her husband, Aaron Siddle, was Joseph. With hot chocolate and cookies available, she said the purpose of the event was to interact with the neighborhood and remind them that the church is there for them.

The church’s services include a food bank and emergency food distributions every week. It also offers hot dogs and Popsicles in the summer.

Stacey Oden, a church member from New Kensington, was one of the shepherds. She kept warm by layering up and wearing mittens.

“Whether shepherds wear mittens or not,” she said, “this shepherd is!”