Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Tradition can inspire hope
‘Road to Bethlehem’ continues its 33-year journey
Each December, a rural stretch of land in Austin takes on its namesake in the form of wooden displays that retell the Nativity story. Bethlehem Road has for more than 30 years been the home of the “Christmas Road to Bethlehem,” a series of painted cutout figures and texts from Scripture visible from the road. A sign heralding their presence stands at the corner where Bethlehem meets Arkansas 31 in Lonoke County.
At night, footlights illuminate the roadside depictions of the story leading up to Christ’s birth, culminating with the Nativity scene in front of Bethlehem United Methodist Church. Sharing its name with the road, it’s where four couples came up with the idea in 1987, and since then the displays have been a draw for families in the Central Arkansas area.
“They were talking about how it being Bethlehem Church, Bethlehem Road … and that the Magi followed the star [from] the east,” said Brenda Phillips, whose father, Jerry Nipper, was one of those eight who began the tradition in 1987. “They looked up the Scriptures, and they started to say, ‘Let’s let this be the journey.’”
The Christmas Road to Bethlehem is one tradition that remains in place this year — a year during which the coronavirus pandemic has upended the way many worship, sent arguments over limits on the size of religious gatherings to the Supreme Court and resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands worldwide. The virus has pushed many services to online platforms and altered sacred rituals such as taking Communion, leaving many feeling removed from their fellow congregants and immersed in uncertainty as they navigate life during the pandemic.
The Nativity story of Mary and Joseph’s travels to Bethlehem and the birth of Jesus Christ — “that’s what Christmas is about” — has remained unchanged, Phillips said.
The church building, erected more than a century ago, lies adjacent to a schoolhouse that was open and operating through the early part of the 20th century, a reminder of change. Today, it’s where the displays are stored each year until Phillips’ husband, Rickey Phillips, places them along Bethlehem Road each year in time for the first Saturday in December.
This year there will be none of the usual gatherings at the church featuring musical groups during the holiday season, a decision made to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Bobby Burns, who has played mandolin at those gatherings for the last 20 years as part of the Hickory Hill Bluegrass Gospel group, described their sound as “old-time music,” with a particular moment during their set in which the group
plays “Silent Night” as candles are lighted.
“It’s been very hard this year, that we haven’t been able to get together,” Burns said. “You can’t do this with everything going on [with] the pandemic. Music is like a tonic, so to speak. People need to get together and loosen up and clap their hands and reminisce, but we’re not getting together — and it’s taken a toll.”
The church has remained open for Sunday services this year, with masks, social distancing and protocols in place. Most of the congregation’s approximately 20 members are older than 50, and many have remained at home, but Rickey Phillips said Sunday’s service numbering 14 members in its sanctuary was one of the best attended since the pandemic reached Arkansas in March.
Joann Abshure, 76, and her husband, Freddie, 78, are two of the eight who created the Christmas Road to Bethlehem. The couple have stayed away from services because their ages put them in a high-risk group, but Joann Abshure noted that residents of Bethlehem Road met several years ago with the church and were asked whether they wanted to continue having the displays along the road each year. The vote to continue was unanimous.
“This will go on as long as some of us are living,” Abshure said. “It’s not the same — we miss being around our people and knowing they’re safe — but this [Christmas Road to Bethlehem] is something that can go on, even with covid.”
“I hope that it brings people closer together. It’s not political; people just have a moment to enjoy the story of Jesus. That’s one story that don’t change.”
Rusty Eisenhower and his wife take their granddaughters, 11 and 5, each year to travel the road. On Wednesday he and his wife took a dry run down Bethlehem Road, about a dozen miles from their home in Austin, to ensure the displays were in place for Thursday, the day they were set to take their grandchildren. They drive from scene to scene, pausing to take in the displays and read the Scripture.
It’s a different experience for each of the girls, Eisenhower said.
“The youngest granddaughter, she’s a storyteller, and she’ll start coming up with some type of story with the animals, [and] she’ll name the cow or the goat,” he said. “The older granddaughter’s been reading them [herself] for a few years. Ultimately, it reinforces [Scripture] — we’re looking at [the displays] and we’re reading the Scriptures.”
“I think it’s a tradition for lots of families, and tradition is what gives people hope,” Phillips said. “Especially this year, the tradition is going to help give people hope. This is something they can do as a family, and start traditions.”