Local minister sells her lifetime collection of nativities
By Olivia Acree
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MERRIAM, Kansas (KSHB) — A local minister has been spreading the story of Christmas through her collection of nativities for 20 years.
Reverend Margi Colerick has garnered quite the collection over the years. She fills her daughter’s church each year with a display of her more than 500 nativities from around the world.
Colerick is a former minister.
“One that has a sickness, has too many nativities,” said Reverend Margi Colerick, nativity collector.
She’s decided to downsize this year and is selling about a third of her collection.
She’s been sharing the collection for 20 years, but her love for nativities started with her mom in 1960.
“She made a whole nativity completely from scratch. And then she made a couple of more because people wanted them,” said Colerick.
Her collection continued to grow, and she wanted to share it with people.
“I thought, you know, I have an awful lot of nativities. I bet I could make a nice display,” said Colerick.
Nativities represent the beginning of Christmas.
“There’s a there’s a lot of other ways to celebrate Christmas these days, but I think it’s always nice to remember where it started,” said Colerick.
She fell in love with the way people shared the story through art, but more so, that each set is perfectly imperfect.
“Here are these nativities, and if you look around, you probably won’t see any that are broken. And yet a lot of them are and it’s kind of like that with us. None of us are perfect,” said Colerick.
Yet they all tell the same message. She shared a story about one nativity that her daughter received as a gift.
“They took a little cardboard match box and a couple of wooden matches and made her a nativity. The only thing is this one tells a story of love,” said Colerick.
This year she’s sharing that love. She’s selling a third of her collection.
“We are downsizing because it’s just getting to be really hard to set up this many,” said Colerick.
To anyone who buys one, she hopes they find the beauty in it like she has for so many years.
“I consider it a gift to the community,” said Colerick.
The nativity display is open at Merriam Christian Church to everyone starting Thursday. They’re priced anywhere from one dollar to $30.
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