AT Liphook Church, they’ve got a real wise man to play the part in their nativity.

Ted Pilgrim, the 91-year-old from Liphook Church, in his wise man's costume

Their 91-year-old worshipper Ted Pilgrim will put on a costume to join two other wise men, five shepherds and four angels – plus real sheep, cows and donkeys.

The ‘Live Nativity’ event at Liphook Church Centre on December 5 will give visitors the chance to experience the flavour of the stable in which Jesus was born 2,000 years ago.

Children and families will be encouraged to see Mary and Joseph in the stable with animals crowding around Jesus in a manger. They’ll meet shepherds tending their sheep and wise men bringing gifts for the newborn baby.

Ted, of Tower Road, who is a veteran of the 1940 Dunkirk evacuations, offered to dress up in the wise man’s costume after the curate, the Rev Alison Bennett, asked for volunteers.

“It’s a way of showing people what it might have been like when Jesus was born,” said Ted. “We need to be on the ball to answer any questions they have, but I don’t think much acting experience is needed or any lines need to be learned.

“I made a jocular comment that at 91 I should be playing a wise man – and they asked me to do so! It’s nice to be able to contribute something in a small way to the life of the church, as I’ve benefited so much after all the church has done for me. My wife died in 2005, and it was the church who helped me to make new friends.”

The Rev Alison Bennett hopes that the Live Nativity will be an alternative to the commercialism of Christmas shopping and Santa’s grotto.

“I hope it gives people of all ages the chance to experience something of the true story of Jesus’ birth, something that they might not otherwise get, and for us all to have great fun at the same time!” she said.

The Live Nativity happens from 11am-1pm on December 5, and is free of charge. There will be refreshments and craft activities on offer for visitors. For more information, contact Alison Bennett (01428-723707) or families worker Jane Corke (01428-727306).

A similar Live Nativity event will happen at Holy Rood Church, Stubbington, from 10am-1pm on December 12. Families can journey through the Christmas story and stroke the real animals in the stable. For more details, contact the parish office on 01329 661154 or holyroodchurch@googlemail.com.

For details of Christmas events at churches across south-east Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, click here