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Print magazine

Moscow Church Spreads True Reason for the Season

By Natashia McVay, February 07, 2019

The city of Moscow, Idaho, has a yearly Christmas parade down Main Street to welcome in the Christmas season.

The parade has always been entirely populated with secular-themed holiday floats. That changed in 2018, and the Moscow Church was one of two Christ-centered floats. Many people attending and taking part in the parade came by and thanked the participants for doing a float that showed the Nativity scene.

As the float was driven down Main Street and entered the main square, the introduction to the float was read: “The purpose of our float, 'Living Nativity,' is to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas, with emphasis on honoring family and friends.”

The float was custom built by members of the church, mostly with donated materials. The float was decorated as a living Nativity, complete with wooden stable and manger. It was lit with hundreds of twinkle lights and two large stars. On each side of the float was a handmade lit sign with the Moscow Church name, which was custom made by Moscow members.

Church members were dressed up in biblical-era costumes as the characters of the Nativity. The children were dressed as little farm animals and walked beside the float. Each child had a basket with candy canes attached to notes with the church’s information and the Christian story of the candy cane.

This fabulous demonstration of teamwork was a wonderful representation of how the Moscow Church works together to reach their community. All the participants enjoyed the opportunity to share Jesus with their local community.

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Featured in: March/April 2019

Author

Natashia McVay

Pacific Northwest pastoral columnist
Section
Upper Columbia Conference
Tags
Church, Christmas, parade, Mission and Outreach

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The Gleaner is a gathering place with news and inspiration for Seventh-day Adventist members and friends throughout the northwestern United States. It is an important communication channel for the North Pacific Union Conference — the regional church support headquarters for Adventist ministry throughout Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. The original printed Gleaner was first published in 1906, and has since expanded to a full magazine with a monthly circulation of more than 40,000. Through its extended online and social media presence, the Gleaner also provides valuable content and connections for interested individuals around the world.

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