EVANS CITY — Colorful lights and Christmas trees are the first things up in some houses, while treasured Nativities take precedence in others.

More than 60 Nativities of different shapes, sizes and designs from the congregation will be displayed throughout St. John's United Church of Christ in Evans City for The Art of the Nativity display from 10 to 2 p.m. Saturday.

“We are a welcoming community and we enjoy having the community be here and be a part of us,” said the Rev. Dr. Verna Call of Connoquenessing Township.

About 40 of the sets displayed are Ona Baird's of Moon Township, who received her first Nativity as a wedding gift for her marriage to Glenn Baird in 1955.

“Every year we would go and look for something new to add to it and the years we couldn't find anything, we'd buy sheep,” Baird said.

The original Nativity set now has about 50 pieces. Baird purchased Roman Fontanini figures to add to her original gift.

“We had probably about 10 pieces to start off with and at 49 cents a piece, I was awfully choosy about them,” Bair said.

At the start of her collection Glenn was making only $1.32 an hour.

Baird's collection has grown as she and Glenn travel the world.

She has one from the Montserrat Monastery in Spain, another from the Holy Land carved out of an Olive Branch and a hand- carved piece from her travels near Vienna, Austria.

“They are snowed in and they have the houses with the barns attached so they can care for their animals,” Baird said. “The women make lace and the men carve.”

Baird also has Limoge China plates, a Russian Fabergé egg from Flordia and many other Nativity depictions.

“I've eliminated all the Santa Clauses, all the snow men and all that sort of stuff,” Baird said. “I just don't put them out anymore because I have to use every last space I own for this stuff.”

Friends and family members have started collecting Nativity scenes for Baird when they travel as well, helping her collection to grow every year.

“It always was the very first thing we put up,” said Baird. “My children knew this was Christmas centered around the birth of Christ.”

When St. John's was looking for a new way to invite the community into the church, Sharon Baird Auth of Butler remembered her mother's suggestion of displaying different Nativities.

“I call it The Art of the Nativity because it's the artistic expression of that iconic scene,” said Auth. “It's everything from needlepoint to carvings to figures and ornaments.”

Auth works to display all of the Nativities in an artistic way, so each one is given a chance to shine.

“I use boxes of different sizes and I create different little platform areas with the boxes and all of that is draped with fabric,” Auth said.

The displays are placed on large tables that straddle pews in the sanctuary.

The many Nativities take up so much room and are displayed in main traffic areas, so they are only available for viewing during the cookie walk.

“You don't want to take any risk with heirlooms,” Auth said.

Other Nativity displays include Call's family's two displays that were made in Germany before World War II.

The Art of the Nativity will also feature a tree made of Auth and Baird's ornaments, all depicting the Nativity.

Visitors will be able to see the different works of art before making their way to the Cookies from the Heart bake sale.

The church's congregation will have more than 400 dozen cookies in 40 different varieties available for purchase.

Last year's cookies from the heart sold out of certain types in just a few hours.

“That was something last year,” Auth said. “Those people were serious cookie buyers. We'll come back and see that we want to get our cookies first.”

<B>WHAT:</B> The Art of the Nativity display and Cookie from the Heart sale<B>WHEN: </B>10 a.m. until sell out or 2 p.m. Saturday. Visitors will view the display before buying cookies<B>WHERE:</B> St. John's United Church of Christ, 501 E. Main St., Evans City<B>COST:</B> Free to view Art of the Nativity; cookies are $5 per dozen