Tiny pewter people about the size of a postage stamp, Brazilian wood figurines covering a whole table, Legos, porcelain, soda cans, precious metals, crystal, paper, cloth and many other materials made up hundreds of Nativities on display in the cultural hall of the Topeka Kansas Stake Center of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
More than 800 Nativities were on display the first weekend in December for the 10th annual interfaith “Nativities and Noels” event in Topeka. Previous years have had up to 1,000 sets in one room, but this year the organizers said they wanted to be able to space out the displays for social distancing.
“There is power in seeing all of those Nativities in one space. There’s a collective spirit you feel from it,” said “Nativities and Noels” artistic director Kathleen Gordon-Ross of the Wakarusa Valley Ward in the Topeka stake.
Gordon-Ross and her co-chair Carol Christensen, of the Sherwood Ward in the same stake, said “Nativities and Noels” began in 2012 to be a reminder to all that Jesus Christ is the reason to celebrate Christmas. It started as a stake project with different Church members contributing their family’s Nativity sets to display. Now it is a three-day event involving several different churches and community members in the greater Topeka area.
“It is opening doors because of that commonality of Jesus Christ. It is significant and integral to all of our religions. It has opened doors for conversation and allowed relationships to form as it brings all of us together,” said Gordon-Ross.
The Nativities
Each year, the Nativities are arranged on tables by country, continent or classification. There are children’s sets, home-made items, vintage pieces and collectibles. Many come from other countries and have been passed down from previous generations.
“Even if they have only one Nativity, they want to share that because it’s their testimony of the Savior. And it’s not any less because it’s just one Nativity than, say, someone who brings in several,” said Christensen.
Nativities were on loan this year from members of 12 other Topeka-area churches. Multiple COVID-19 safety precautions were taken at the event, and masks were recommended.
Gordon-Ross said one of the visitors told her how powerful and unifying it was to walk among hundreds of Nativities.
“You see this story of a baby coming to earth being depicted by so many different cultures. And each puts their own little twist on it, in their traditional clothing or using materials from where they live. And yet the story is the same,” she said. “It unifies us, this story of a baby born to the world to save us all, being shown in so many different ways.”
The Noels
While people walked through the tables and displays, they heard Christmas music being played.
Christensen said most of the musical numbers each year are live vocal or instrumental performances. Children, youth, individuals and family groups from the nine wards and two branches in the stake signed up for a spot this year. Community choirs and school groups also sing at the event. They’ve had a gospel choir perform in the past, too.
“We had some people from other churches sign up to play the piano or do some other music. That is exciting to broaden the participation of the nativity sharing, but also the participation of the music sharing,” said Christensen.
The event ran Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and people were invited to stay and watch the broadcast of the First Presidency Christmas Devotional Sunday evening, Dec. 5.
The logistics
Last year the event was virtual during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Gordon-Ross put hundreds of pictures and videos on the “Nativities and Noels” Facebook page and on the “Nativities and Noels” YouTube channel.
“We were thrilled to be able to do this in-person again this year and have members of the community seeking us out and asking if they could contribute Nativities,” she said.
The planning and logistics include detailed online spreadsheets and paper records. Each piece of each Nativity is marked and recorded, and the packaging is kept under the tables so that nothing gets lost or misplaced. The building is guarded and volunteers are always watching the room. The co-chairs said they have never lost a Nativity in 10 years.
Putting it all together takes the help of the whole stake — invitations, transporting tables from other buildings, setting up, hosting, taking down the room and cleaning up.
Christensen said it is a lot of work, but the community and Church members are very supportive. She knows she gets a lot of spiritual blessings from the event.
“Seeing hundreds of depictions of the birth of Jesus and listening to beautiful Christ-focused music helps to re-center “Nativities and Noels” attendees on the Savior,” she said.
