Rodger and Carolyn Oroke, of Lawrence, toured the 2007 Festival of Nativities at Centenary United Methodist Church, 245 N. Fourth St. This year’s festival begins Saturday.

Cider and songs set the holiday mood along with more than 300 nativities from around the world at Centenary United Methodist Church each year.

The transformation that the church undergoes for the Festival of Nativities is something organizer Chris Jump says you have to see to understand.

“The first thing people say is, ‘Oh, wow,'” Jump says. “Almost everyone.”

Fourteen years ago, Nancy Atchley organized the first Festival of Nativities, which featured 125 nativity sets. Last year, the number was close to 450, counting ornaments of the Biblical scene.

And as that number grows, organizers have become increasingly creative, never arranging tables the same way twice. Jump says the longer they go, the harder it is to think of ideas.

“We’ve had to go vertical because we ran out of horizontal display space,” Jump says.

The nativities will be on display from noon to 4 p.m. the first three weekends of December at the church, 245 N. Fourth St. Admission is free, but donations are accepted.

The wide variety of materials and countries of origin make each nativity unique, but Jump enjoys seeing cultural distinctions.

In one Nativity from Kyrgyzstan, made of pressed wool felt, two wise men and a veiled Mary stand by the baby Jesus. The stable is a round tent called a yurt, the traditional home of Kyrgyz nomads. The set is one of Jump’s favorites.

“I think it’s important for people to recognize God in themselves,” Jump says. “The image of Jesus as a European white baby may make it difficult for people of other cultures to relate to the nativity story.”

The international nativities were displayed together last year, the first featured theme of the festival. This year’s event will feature the many nativities that have been donated over the years, including one that was left anonymously on the church doorstep. Members from the church and the community loan nativities each year as well.

One special donation came from Steve Maceli of Maceli’s Catering, last year. A painted Christmas tree, made by students at Bishop Seabury Academy in Lawrence in 2006 for the Festival of Trees, shows the three wise men silhouetted against a replication of Van Gogh’s Starry Night. He donated the tree when organizers asked to borrow it for the festival.

“We don’t want to admit we coveted it, but we did,” Joy Sodders, co-organizer, says jokingly.

A kids’ table displays nativities that children are allowed to touch and play with, including a large floor puzzle. At a small gift shop, church members will be selling baked goods, crafts and gifts, including quilted ornaments they’ve made by hand.

The festival is a part of the Health Care Access Holiday Homes Tour for the first time this year. Organizers hope this will increase the number of people who can see the display, which they typically come three times a week through November to set up. It’s hard to get the word out, Jump says, but people who come typically come back.

Nancy Larsen has been coming back for more than 10 years now.

“You get to see all the different kinds of materials and different ways the nativity can be presented. They do a very nice job of putting it all together,” Larsen says. “I enjoy it every year, and every year’s different.”