It came to pass that the shepherds abided in the fields, the three kings traversed afar and the angelic hosts proclaimed the birth of infant Jesus.

And it all happened on the chilly but spectacularly clear evening of Sunday, Dec. 11, on a grassy swath next to a parking lot at the intersection of Harford Road and Putty Hill Avenue.

That's where the Youth Ministry of Hiss United Methodist Church stages its annual Living Nativity, a tradition going back at least two decades.

Waiting for the start of the first of three performances and cradling the doll in swaddling clothes that was standing in for Jesus, Sarah Rohrs, 17, a student at Loch Raven High School, was garbed as Mary. She's performed at many living nativities, but this was her first year as Mary.

"This is really special. It puts you in the mindset of, what if it were real?" she said.

Joey Wilson, 16, was robed as Joseph. The junior at Sparrows Point High School said he has been involved with the performances for years.

"I have been a wise man and I was a shepherd for two years," he said. "I love doing it."

Dianne Thompson, director of evangelism and communications for the church, said live animals were once part of the peformance, including sheep, goats and chickens. Once, Mary reportedly arrived on a horse.

But there were no authentic bleats or clucks this year.

"There aren't as many farms around, so there are fewer animals," Thompson said.

Elle Smiley, 16, a student at Dulaney High School, was not performing this year, but recalled past performances.

"We were the animals one year. I was a cow. We made animal noises. It was fun," she said.

Her father, Mark Smiley, the senior assistant pastor, wore a badge that said "Pastor Elf,"

He said, "I miss the sheep. They would leave these little presents around."

Perhaps because of the near-freezing temperature, the three successive peformances were only about 20 minutes long. An audience of about 40 showed up for the first performance.

As a narrator recited the story of the nativity, the performers would create tableaus under lights. Each tableau was accompanied by a Christmas carol, the audience joining in.

Stage managing the event was Pastor George Wetzel, who grew up as a congregant at Hiss United Methodist, went into the ministry and served at other parishes before returning to Hiss three years ago.

He said the nativity performance has gone through changes with bigger casts and larger crowds as the years went by. However, he said, the size of the crowd usually depends on the weather.

"It has evolved quite a bit," he said.

A star appears

This year, snacks and hot chocolate were served. Manning the booth was Ian Lamb, 15, of Overlea, a student in the vocal magnet program at Patapsco High School.

He wanted to talk politics as he poured a cup of chocolate. A proud Republican, he said, "I used to support Herman Cain."

Founded in 1839, Hiss has an estimated 800 congregants, about 250 of whom attend regularly, Thompson said. The church has missions in Central America and poverty regions of the United States, she said.

About a half hour before the first performance, as the skies darkened, Pastor Wetzel was in a mild panic because of power problems with the public address system.

Then, a single star appeared on high (albeit in the west, not the east). The power came on.

A coincidence? Who can say?