All eyes on Bethlehem

This small rural community's Christmas spirit has earned it a place in the national eye this weekend.

USA Weekend Senior Writer Dennis McCafferty spent three days in Bethlehem, meeting the people and soaking up the atmosphere after the magazine's staff selected the community from a group of 36 communities nationwide that share the same name.

"Bethlehem, no matter where it is, whether geographical or in our hearts, provides comfort during the holiday season," McCafferty said. "And this is a time when many people need a place of comfort."

The magazine staff decided to feature Bethlehem, N.C., which straddles Catawba and Alexander counties, for a few reasons, McCafferty said. The first is that it hasn't received as much publicity as the well-known Bethlehem, Penn.

"And we asked ourselves why the town hasn't been written about more. It has this beautiful star and the drive-thru is so unique and takes a huge effort on the part of the residents," he said.

To make the final decision, the staff was looking for an "X factor," he said, something they couldn't define, but would know it when they saw it.

"We wanted to get a sense of the community itself, looking for a place where the 'good will to men' feeling extends all year long," McCafferty said. "It was very easy to find all these components in Bethlehem, N.C., but even after I got there, I found more."

McCafferty mentions the Ezekiel's Room ministry at the Alexander Correctional Center. This program offers religious-based activities for the children of inmates while their parents visit. The children first visit with their parents and then go into a separate room, set apart for worship, Bible stories, crafts and prayers for the children's needs. Most importantly, it serves as a place where children with a parent in jail can meet other children in the same situation, showing them they are not alone. While it is based at the correctional center in Taylorsville, McCafferty found a number of Bethlehem residents who participated in the program.

"This program is so impressive," he said. "Most communities see prisons as necessary evils. They accept it and are thankful for it, but they try not to think about it. This ministry reaches out to those children and lets them know they're not alone."

A child also was the focus of another event catching McCafferty's attention — a 24-hour bike ride in memory of Aaron Sain, who died from cancer in 2004. The ride, "24 Hours of Booty," raises money for the Brain Tumor Fund of the Carolinas.

But the ride is just the continuation of the help neighbors gave Gary and Karen Sain, Aaron's parents, during his seven years of treatment.

"It was such an outflow from the community to help this young man and his family while he was undergoing treatment," McCafferty said. "And it continues through the bike ride."

Karen Sain said Aaron's younger brother, Brian, who was in third grade at the time of Aaron's diagnosis, was taken care of by neighbors and school friends while the Sains took Aaron out of town for various treatments.

"We were just trying to keep our heads above water and they took care of the day-to-day," Karen said.

The community has continued to raise money for brain tumor research in Aaron's name through fundraisers like the bike ride, raising about $90,000 so far. Karen Sain said classes at Bethlehem Elementary School in 2006 raised more than $5,000 through a competition to see which class could raise the most money.

And, of course, Bethlehem celebrates Christmas in a big way. The lighting of the Christmas Star is probably the best-known tradition in the community, going back 31 years, Alexander County Commissioner and Bethlehem resident Wes Bolick said. The community bought a new star this year, at a cost of $3,000, thanks to the efforts of students at Bethlehem Elementary and West Alexander Middle schools. The star moved across N.C. 127, but motorists cannot miss it, especially at night when the star is lit.

The town also puts on a dinner theater each Christmas, with shows at Advent Fellowship Christian Church and the Alexander Theater. This year's show was "A Cricket County Country Christmas," and was performed six times in late November. The proceeds are split between the Bethlehem Ministerial Association and other local needs, such as the prison ministry. Bill Millinor, who has been involved with the Christmas theater for its five years, said the proceeds from the shows are still being tallied, but estimates they raised over $4,000. Millinor said the proceeds from the show in Taylorsville went to Habitat for Humanity this year.

Last, but not least, is the annual Christmas in Bethlehem Drive-Thru, held in a lot beside Advent Fellowship Church on Fellowship Church Road. Each year, members of several local churches build the town of Bethlehem as they picture it was when Jesus was born. People may even park their cars at the church, change into clothing fitting into the time of Jesus' birth and mingle with others populating the town.

This year is the sixth for the drive-thru.

In his article, McCafferty compares Bethlehem, N.C., to Bedford Falls, the town portrayed in the holiday classic "It's a Wonderful Life."

"There are a lot of George Baileys in the little town of Bethlehem, N.C., population 6,500," he writes. "To celebrate them is to celebrate the love of community that resonates so deeply within us."