Calif. Nativity A Shocker To Make An Immigration Point

CLAREMONT, CA — A Southern California Methodist church's depiction of a modern refugee Nativity scene got an international audience talking over the weekend.

The Rev. Karen Clark Ristine of Claremont United Methodist Church shared the controversial Nativity scene, depicting a stark image of the holy family separated at the border, to show the modern reality of the challenges that refugees face.

The church's theological statement was clear, in Ristine's view.

"In a time in our country when refugee families seek asylum at our borders and are unwillingly separated from one another, we consider the most well-known refugee family in the world," she wrote on her Facebook page.

"What if this family sought refuge in our country today?" she asked her Facebook audience.

The Nativity provides a thought-provoking image: three chain-link cages, a baby apart from his mother, and the father, separated from all. It is a pointed statement of the ongoing detention of migrant children separated from their families since 2017.

Ristine's post was riddled with comments from all sides of the controversial issue. While some loved the display and its sentiment, others found the depiction of the Nativity "tacky and disrespectful."

Another pointed out that "even Heaven has a wall," as Facebook user Tony Martin wrote. "Not just anyone can go to Heaven."

Still, others applauded the church's statement with a solid "WELL DONE!"

"As Christians, we are called to stand up for those who have no voice," Cathy Williamson wrote on the post. "I applaud this church for having the courage to make such a statement."

For the Claremont church, the holy family's refugee treatment is not the end of the greatest story ever told.

Inside the church, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph are seen reunited.

That Nativity depicts the scene with angels in singing "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and goodwill to all," in a representation of Luke 2:14.

Neither Ristine nor the church could be reached for comment for of this report.