Passing motorists can see the religious figures from Route 8 in Hampton.

“They just look a lot brighter,” the Rev. Scott Kuechenmeister-Hall said about the figures of Mary, Joseph and Jesus visible near Nativity Lutheran Church on Mt. Royal Boulevard.

Three wise men, two shepherds, one camel, one cow and multiple sheep also share the floodlight that bathes the Nativity scene at night.

All of the figures — except the camel — have gotten fresh paint within the last two years.

“I wanted them to look their best,” said church member Suzan Lukas of Shaler, the artist who spent three months repainting the plywood characters' decades-old faces.

Lukas used Valspar outdoor acrylic paints to rejuvenate the figures and reincarnate the Magi as wise men of different races, signifying the adoration of Jesus by people of all races.

“Mary is kind of iconic. The others are more realistic,” Lukas said about her depictions of the Christmas characters. “I tried to give the shepherds a Middle Eastern look.”

Watercolorist Nancy Smith of Hampton and Carol Banks of Indiana Township repainted a lot of the animals and characters' clothes.

All of the plywood figures, except the animals and Mary, exceed 6 feet in height. They spend most of the year stored in a shed.

Former church member Paul Schmid of York County originally drew the Holy Family and shepherds on sheets of plywood.

Current church member Ed Banks of Indiana Township then carved out most of the characters with a saber saw.

“Paul (Schmid) painted them,” Banks said.

The Holy Family and two shepherds debuted as an outdoor tableau in 1986, according to a 1991 history of the congregation at Nativity Lutheran Church.

“It grew over time,” Banks said about the Nativity scene. “The wise men came later. Then the cow came. Then the camel came.”

Last year, Lukas noticed the figures' fading glory.

“The colors had become muted,” Kuechenmeister-Hall said.

Until Kuechenmeister-Hall arrived in 2011, the Nativity figures sat closer to Nativity Lutheran Church.

“When I came here, they were starting to put it up, and I said, ‘What are you putting it here for? Nobody can see it.'

“So we moved it out to the highway. That was about three years ago,” said the pastor, who lives in the Greenfield section of Pittsburgh and used to work as a campus minister in Oakland.

Ed Banks was among men who recently installed the Nativity scene near Route 8.

“It's hard to position so you can see it from both ways (on Route 8),” Banks said.

Tall metal pipes, driven 3 feet into the ground, anchor the Nativity figures. C-shaped brackets hold the figures to the pipes.

“They've been up through some horrific winds and never blown over,” Kuechenmeister-Hall said.

Church members rededicated the Nativity scene to the glory of God after the 10:15 a.m. worship service Nov. 30.

“We processed out, following the cross, to the Nativity scene,” Kuechenmeister-Hall said. “We had prayers of dedication and a blessing of the figures.”

People can view the figures through Jan. 6 — Epiphany. Nativity Lutheran Church is at 4517 Mt. Royal Blvd.

For information, call 412-487-1071.

Deborah Deasy is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 724-772-6369 or ddeasy@tribweb.com.

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