Lancaster Moravian Church revives longtime tradition of displaying Christmas Putz, which tells Nativity story with tiny wooden figurines, many carved by a Lancaster man.
S. Arthur Shoemaker stands with the shepherds, wise men and animals he carved for one of the nativity scenes in the
Lancaster Moravian Church Putz that will be on display at the church Sunday.
These carvings by S. Arthur Shoemaker for Lancaster Moravian Church’s Putz show a narrator
reading the story of the birth of
Christ to children in the opening
scene.
A very pregnant Mary in the innkeeper scene.
By JOAN KERN
Lancaster
Updated Oct 03, 2008 11:06
S. Arthur Shoemaker carved Jesus Christ as a happy fellow.
"I think I took him from 'Jesus Christ Superstar,' " Shoemaker said. "His clothes are blowing, he has a nice smile and his hands are outstretched."
And he has red, round cheeks like Santa Claus.
The large carving is the centerpiece of the Christmas Putz that Lancaster Moravian Church, 1460 Eden Road, will present for the second consecutive year in showings at 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday.
But for nearly 20 years, Lancaster Moravian's putz had been hidden away, until a group of men there decided to bring the intricate, miniature Nativity scene out of storage and display it for the congregation — and the public — once again.
More than a manger scene, a putz includes the entire Nativity story in numerous scenes, with narration, lights and music. It originated as a tool to teach children but also refreshes adult spirits.
Putz is from the German verb "putzen," meaning to decorate or adorn. The Moravians brought the putz, pronounced "puts," to Pennsylvania from regions in the former Czechoslovakia.
From the very beginning, it has been made from stumps, moss, greens, rocks, paper and carved figures.
A putz has been a longtime tradition of the Lancaster church, since it was located at 30 W. Orange St.
However, assembling, dismantling and storing the original putz, which included sand and running water, took a lot of time and effort. After the church, founded in 1746, moved to Eden Road in the late 1960s, members lost their desire for an annual putz.
Then in 1974, the men's fellowship group decided to pull the pieces out of cubbyholes in the sanctuary where they were stored and revive the Christmas tradition.
But the men wanted to update it and do it more simply. They built shadow boxes with lighting for 12 permanent scenes on a platform with wheels.
Shoemaker, a member of the church since shortly before he was married in 1957, designed the putz and carved 27 figures for eight boxes, and all the furniture. The other four boxes feature hand-carved figures purchased from Oberammergau, Germany, when the church was still in Lancaster City.
Those figures are dressed in medieval clothes; Shoemaker's are in Hebrew dress. Mary appears pregnant as she rides a donkey into Bethlehem.
"They never would have shown that," Shoemaker said, referring to the German carvers.
The new putz was displayed for several years, then put away and forgotten.
Shoemaker, who retired in 1989 after 32 years as an industrial arts teacher at Elizabethtown Area High School, offers woodcarving lessons in a shop in his Lancaster home.
Two years ago, he hosted the men's fellowship group in the shop. One of the men mentioned the putz tradition, and Shoemaker said casually, "You know we have one."
"Well, we've got to get that out," the man replied.
So, for the first time in nearly 20 years, according to the church, the putz was displayed in 2006.
This is the second year that the men's group has sponsored the Christmas Putz. They hope it's the beginning of a lasting tradition.
"We've pulled back some of our history," said H. John Rowe, who co-chairs the men's group.
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