La Natividad Resources

A note from Sandy Spieler,
HOBT Artistic Director

Why South Minneapolis?

Someone asked me why I’ve chosen to enact the Christmas Story within the context of our South Minneapolis neighborhood. My answer is a common sense answer: I have simply always known the Christmas Story within the context of my current life.

Actually, I do not remember ever learning the Christmas Story, so intrinsic is it to my upbringing. When my family lived in a small town in Michigan, our celebrations were placed within the familiar context of the Michigan landscape. When we lived in Washington DC in the turbulent late 1960’s, we imagined our neighborhood as “Bethlehem”, and spoke of the Christ child born in someone’s alley garage “stable”, a quiet shelter amidst the violence of the day. This child born of an unwed mother would be inspired by the Old Testament prophets to become a great leader, teaching through stories to envision and inspire a world of love, peace, and health. This child would grow into a life of humble sacrifice in sharp contrast to the ruling colonial power sporting the largest military budget in the world.

Our imaging of the Christmas Story in this era of Civil Rights marches and the Vietnam War felt directly parallel to the Biblical passages we studied each Advent. Even as a teenager, I innately understood the incredible unexpected and quiet power of Christ being born of woman, amidst animals, into the working class, surrounded by the rule and surveillance of the Roman Empire.

My family’s study of the Christmas Story included “the Slaughter of the Innocents” which horrified me. Yet Herod’s incredulous genocidal edict revealed for me an essential piece of the Christmas Story—that a power based on fear, suspicion and greed (King Herod and his army) cannot slaughter the power of Love (the Christ Child.)

In 1984, Walker Community Church prepared the space we had just vacated to be a shelter for a Guatemalan woman fleeing the violence of her homeland.
Christmas was approaching. I thought of “the Slaughter of the Innocents” and recognized a connection between this woman’s escape from Guatemala and the story of Mary and Joseph looking for shelter – first for the birth of their child, and then as they fled to Egypt for protection from the violence of King Herod’s soldiers.

In order to support Walker Church in providing sanctuary for the refugee, we built a performance of the Christmas Story which toured to various churches in the Twin Cities metro area. This 1984 performance (titled The Hunt) evolved into several versions over the years, and eventually into La Natividad, our current joyful partnership with St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, El Mercado Central, and Walker Community Church choir.

La Natividad veers from the Biblical chronology of Herod’s attempt to kill the Christ Child. Instead of ending with “the Slaughter of the Innocents”, we conclude with a welcome to the Nativity as we embrace all the Holy Children into our midst for safety, health, love and peace.

- Sandy Spieler, Artistic Director

• Advent refers to the four week period proceeding Christmas
• “The Slaughter of the Innocents” is an episode of infanticide by Herod the Great that appears in the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 2:16-18)

Educational Resources

Many thanks to Rev. Theresa Mason for suggesting these resources for further investigation.

General Biblical Background:

• The Story of the Storytellers

Church Websites on Immigration in English:

• Church World Service
• Lutheran Immigration & Refugee Service
• Justice for Immigrants (pdf)

Church Websites on Immigration in Spanish:

• Acogiendo a los Extranjeros (pdf)

Local action groups:

• Minnesota Immigrant Freedom Network
• Workers Interfaith Network

A note from the Reverends Patrick and Luisa Cabello Hansel, the joint pastors of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church

The story of Christ’s birth is in many ways a story of people on the move. Mary and Joseph leave their small town, due to large political and economic forces beyond their control. A census, a major tool of the Roman Empire to exact taxes and control subject populations, requires them to travel to Bethlehem. Shepherds - migrant workers who travel with their owners’ flocks - are the first to worship the Christ Child. Kings travel from a far country to bring gifts. Angels descend with promises of peace. The Holy Family become refugees, hunted by a violent government. All this in the context of God’s movement to become "one of us", and bring justice and mercy to earth.

St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church has been in the Phillips community for 121 years, and yet we are a church on the move. Founded by Swedish immigrants in 1887, we are now reaching out to and serving a diverse community, including many immigrants from Latin America. We became involved with La Natividad three years ago, as a way both to unite the neighborhood across cultural lines, and to lift up the power of the Christmas story happening here - in this community - a community much like the original Bethlehem.

La Natividad includes Las Posadas, a traditional Mexican and Central American procession where the community accompanies Maria & JosÈ (Mary and Joseph) as they seek posada, or shelter, for the baby Jesus to be born. During this journey, they are rejected both by the political leaders and by residents, and yet journey on in hope. As the final act of La Natividad, we offer our sanctuary as Posada for those who journey because we want to say: "All are welcome here." The Christmas story invites all people to share in God’s love.

St. Paul’s is located at 2742 15th Ave S. and offers programs in Spanish and English for all ages. Finally, we want to thank Rev. Theresa Mason for her research, support, and contribution to the educational resources on this page. In the spirit of learning and understanding, we’d like to suggest these resources for further investigation.

-Patrick and Luisa Cabello Hansel
Pastors, St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church