Cumberland Presbyterian to Celebrate 63rd Living Nativity

The Cumberland Presbyterian Church will celebrate the 63rd year of its Living Nativity on Sunday, Dec. 14, from 6–7:30 p.m. on the south side of the church at 210 S. Ave. M.

Event chairperson Carla Inge, who first appeared in the Nativity as a fourth-grade angel and has led the event since 2011, said the church is seeking volunteers to help staff this year’s presentation.

The Nativity began in 1962 under the direction of Winnie Dunagan Evans, who made the original costumes and staged the scene at the front of the church — sometimes placing angels on the roof and incorporating live animals.

Mra. Evans got the idea from her sister, who lived north of Corpus Christi and got the idea from nearby churches, according to earlier accounts of the celebration.

The event has remained a beloved homecoming for many Olney families.

Mrs. Inge noted that her own sons return to help, and that in 2022, Mrs. Evans’ great-great-granddaughter Harper Creel participated as an angel.