Local Nativity Scene Shows Jesus, Mary and Joseph as Refugees in Cages

A Claremont church's nativity scene is stirring up some talk as the classic view of Jesus, Mary and Joseph was given a cagey update.

The Claremont United Methodist Church placed the Nativity figurines of Joseph and Mary in cages on either side of a caged baby Jesus.

Reverend Karen Clark Ristine, the lead pastor at the church, says this display was meant to represent the many families separated at the border.

“We’ve heard of their plight; we’ve seen how these asylum seekers have been greeted and treated. We wanted the Holy Family to stand in for those nameless people because they also were refugees.
We don’t see it as political; we see it as theological. I’m getting responses from people I don’t know … I am having people tell me that it moved them to tears. So if the Holy Family and the imagery of the Holy Family and the imagery of a Nativity is something you hold dear, and you see them separated, then that’s going to spark compassion in many people.”

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