Those who are fond of nativity sets – artistic representations of the scene of Jesus’ birth – have found a haven in recent years at Centenary United Methodist Church, 245 N. Fourth St.

It’s a literal haven, a place of respite from the relentless onslaught of Christmas commercialism that has come to dominate the weeks leading up to the holiday.

The 160-member church has been host to the Festival of Nativities, featuring hundreds of crÃches collected from around the world, for the past seven years.

Now the congregation is gearing up for the eighth annual festival, an event lots of Lawrence residents – and even those from far away – have grown to eagerly anticipate.

The festival, which begins today, will be open to the public from noon to 4 p.m. during the first three weekends of December. There is no charge to attend.

“We’re finding that there are many families who’ve added it to their holiday tradition. I think people are hungry for a place that they can go during the Christmas season where they can experience the sacredness of it, in the middle of all the secular materialism,” said the Rev. Judy Long O’Neal, Centenary’s pastor.

Chris Jump, a church member who’s in charge of organizing the Festival of Nativities this year, agreed.

“I think it helps remind people of the meaning of the Christmas season and provides a kind of relief from the hectic shopping atmosphere. I would say it’s peaceful and contemplative,” she said.

Nativities typically include the figures of Joseph, Mary and Jesus. Other sets also feature angels, shepherds and animals from the stable where Jesus was born and the Magi, or Three Wise Men.

The aspect of the festival that seems to most impress visitors is the vast assortment of nativities.

In the collection, loaned for the event by Centenary members and friends of the church, features crÃches made of all sorts of materials: ceramic, wood, porcelain, papier-mâche, resin, bamboo, straw and cloth.

In past years, there was even a nativity set created using origami, the Japanese art of folding paper into decorative shapes.

People who come to the festival also typically marvel at the long list of countries the crÃches come from.

“We’ll have more than 200 nativity sets this time. We’ve got them from at least five of the seven continents. Church members, and some people who’ve come to the festival in the past, have all asked to display one,” Jump said.

Another aspect of the event that people seem to enjoy is the variety of cultural interpretations of the Christmas story that are represented in the nativity sets.

“There’s a Native American set with a baby in a teepee, and there’s one with Eskimos in fur-lined parkas and an igloo as the stable where Jesus was born. It’s a way of saying, ‘If this had happened in our culture, here’s what it would look like,'” O’Neal said.

The eighth annual Festival of Nativities will begins today at Centenary United Methodist Church, 245 N. Fourth St.The festival is open to the public and free of charge from noon to 4 p.m. today and Sunday, as well as Dec. 14-15 and Dec. 21-22.This year’s festival features more than 200 nativity sets from around the world, a “children’s corner” with hands-on activities, a craft shop and light refreshments.Group tours are available by appointment.For more information, contact the church at 843-1756.

For Jump, the festival has a deeper meaning.

“The Nativity is a reminder that when God comes among us, it’s in unexpected and unpredictable ways. No one expected the Messiah to be born to a poor, unwed mother in the filth of a stable,” she said.

“So I think at Christmas, we should be reminded to look for the presence of God in unexpected, and even unpleasant, places.”