A Nativity Festival is planned for Jacksonville this December, and organizers are asking the community to loan sets for the display. The Jacksonville Area Conference of Churches is organizing a Nativity Festival at Faith Lutheran Church, 1385 W. Walnut St., set for Saturday, Dec. 5, and Sunday, Dec. 6, with organizers hoping to assemble one of the region's largest collections of nativity sets.
According to the Jacksonville Journal-Courier, the festival marks the conference's first attempt at the event, and organizers are counting on loaned sets from local households to build out the display. The festival will run from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Dec. 5 and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Dec. 6, according to the-source.net, with an extensive collection of nativity sets on display alongside holiday refreshments and Christmas musical performances.
Admission is free, though the event is supporting the Unmet Needs ministry through donations or the sale of baked goods, the same report notes. The Journal-Courier adds that nativity sets can range widely in scale, from a simple three-piece crèche with Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus to multigenerational heirloom collections, each representing the birth of Jesus Christ.
How to Loan a Nativity Set
The community is being asked to loan their own nativity sets for the display, per the same account. Donors need to drop sets off on Nov. 29 from noon to 4 p.m. at Faith Lutheran Church, or during church office hours the week before, the source notes. The Journal-Courier reports that delivery can also happen Nov. 30, or by arrangement during the preceding week, and that owners can call Faith Lutheran Church at 217-245-8919 to coordinate drop-off.
Every donor must fill out a loan form with a full description of their nativity set, the article notes, and that form is available online or by contacting festival coordinator Mia. Once the festival wraps, owners can collect their displays from 4:40 to 7 p.m. on Dec. 6, or from 9 a.m. to noon on Dec. 7, according to the Journal-Courier.
Volunteers and Musicians Still Needed
Organizers are also recruiting help to pull off the two-day event. They're seeking volunteers to set up the display area from 5 to 8 p.m. on Nov. 29, and others to tear it down from 4 to 7 p.m. on Dec. 6, per the same account. Additional volunteers are needed to staff a coffee bar, sell baked goods or host visitors during the festival, the report states, and sign-ups are available online.
Musicians are also being sought to perform for an hour during the festival, the Journal-Courier notes. Questions about the event can be directed to coordinator Mia at 217-204-6054 or by email at [email protected].
A Tradition With Regional Company
The Jacksonville festival isn't the only local effort built around nativity displays. About two miles west of Jacksonville, Wesley Chapel United Methodist Church revived a decades-old live Nativity tradition in 2023 after it had been paused for several years due to low participation, according to the Journal-Courier. The church had more than 70 volunteers who would act in roles and help with setup, with vehicles guided through a drive-through route entering from Merritt Road and exiting onto Old 36.
Elsewhere, nativity collections have reached far larger scale. Oasis Church in Pembroke Pines, Florida, set a record recognized by Guinness World Records for the largest display of nativity sets, assembling 2,150 unique sets drawn from church members' personal collections on Dec. 11, 2010. The Jacksonville festival falls during Advent, a religious time of preparation for Christmas that begins the last Sunday in November and continues through Christmas Eve, the Journal-Courier notes.
