No more wise men. No more shepherds, cows, donkeys and sheep. And no more infants playing baby Jesus.

The curtain has come down on one of the longest running religious productions in the area: “The Living Nativity” in Vinland.

For 30 years, area families with newborns took part each Christmas season in playing the holy family roles of Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus.

But the production, which was three nights and involved about 100 volunteers each year just before Christmas, won’t be back, two past organizers said Friday.

“After 30 years, that was enough,” said the Rev. Nick Woods, pastor of the Vinland United Methodist Church. “It’s just run its course.”

Jean Moore, who has coordinated the event for the last six years and been involved in it for 30 years, said one of the reasons they are no longer having the event is because it has been difficult to find volunteers.

“We just don’t have the help that we had,” Moore said. “It’s a lot of work and our attendance has been dwindling. It’s not as good as it used to be.”

The manger scene was staged originally at a barn on the farm of Howard and Elizabeth Hemphill. It was moved in 2000 to the Vinland Fairgrounds to provide more room for parking.

Woods said the church wanted to thank all those who contributed their time over the years to the event and to all those who came to see it.

Each year, the church collected free-will offerings that were sent to the United Methodist Youthville in Newton, Woods said. It collected between $700 and $1,000 annually.

Moore was involved in the production from the start.

“A couple of our church members had come from Oklahoma and they had seen it done down there,” she said. “So they asked if we would be willing to attempt it. And we did.”

Moore said it takes 18 “holy families” to put on the event, including babies and their parents, who would each play their roles for 30 minutes.

“Plus we generally have at least three shepherds in at all times,” she said.

Ben O'Dell, his wife, Mary, and their then-9-month-old daughter portray Joseph, Mary and the baby Jesus at a living nativity near Vinland sponsored by the United Methodist Church. Organizers of the event say they will no longer stage it, partly because of a lack of volunteers.

The production also included many people who helped with the costumes, those who helped park cars, and those who ran the lighting and sound systems.

They also had to round up the animals for the event, which included a donkey, a cow, sheep and even lambs, she said.

The production used taped music and a reading of the Christmas story from the Gospel of Luke, she said.

The manger scene brought in visitors from around the area and even those visiting from other countries, including Saudi Arabia and Great Britain, she said.

After 30 years, Moore said this Christmas season would be a “very big change for her” in that she’s not hunting through the community to find infants for the baby Jesus role or animals to be in the manger area.

“I’m finding myself with time on my hands – not really,” she said, laughing. “Not really. I’m plenty busy if I want to be.”