Sacrificial gifts from more than 44,000 families and individuals are helping save a local Christmas tradition—the Pittsburgh Crèche.
The board of directors of Our Campaign for The Church Alive!, Inc. approved a $50,000 evangelization grant toward the annual cost to assemble, maintain and take down the 30-ton structure, the world’s only authorized replica of the Nativity Crèche that Pope John Paul II commissioned for the Vatican.
Preserving the true meaning of Christmas, the Pittsburgh Crèche stands as a reminder of God’s great love for all His creation.
Local labor unions have embraced the crèche, volunteering their services since the structure was first erected in the U.S. Steel Tower Plaza in 1999.
“The crèche is so important to the faith community,” said Rick Okraszewski, director of the Carpenters Apprenticeship Training Program. “The project also has been a valuable training experience for our apprentices.”
The carpenters, electricians and other workers assemble the crèche over several weeks, using a large crane to lift the walls and roof into place.
“The campaign grant provides the financial stability we needed,” said Father Ron Lengwin, a tireless advocate for the project. “Without these funds, the crèche probably wouldn’t have gone back up this year.
“Because so many union volunteers help construct and maintain it, then take it down, the impression is there are no expenses,” Father Lengwin said. “But there are real costs involved.”
The carpenters stepped forward in 2014 to rebuild the base of the crèche, which had weakened due to weather damage over the years.
“Every year we see parents and grandparents standing with children before the crèche, telling the story,” Father Lengwin said. “People fall on their knees, folding their hands and bowing their head in prayer.
“The faith of people is renewed or deepened. We remember that God so loved us that he sent his son to us to live as a human being, and to show that we can live like him and Mary and Joseph,” Father Lengwin said.
Dedicated in a prayer service on November 20, Light Up Night in downtown Pittsburgh, the crèche will remain on display through January 7, 2016.
Responsibility for the Pittsburgh Crèche belongs to the Christian Leaders Fellowship, the local heads of 10 Christian traditions: Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh, Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh, Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Presbytery, Salvation Army of Western PA, United Church of Christ Penn West Conference, and United Methodist Conference of Western PA.
