Post by M. Hawbaker on Dec 17, 2020 13:30:01 GMT
Claremont United Methodist Church, a church known for its unique and controversial Nativity scenes centering around current events, has created a new Nativity scene depicting the Holy family in the midst of a Black Lives Matter protest.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the Nativity scene shows Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus in front of a mural of people wearing masks and holding up signs reading “Black Lives Matter” and “I can’t breathe,” along with several other quotes. Some Bible verses and biblical sentiments are also included in the signs, including “Jesus wept,” (John 11:35) and “Do Justice. Love Kindness. Walk Humbly with God,” (Micah 6:8).
While the statue of Joseph kneels beside baby Jesus in the manger, Mary is shown with her arms in the air as she stands in solidarity with the protestors. Above the mural is a list of over 30 names of Black people who have been killed, including the recent deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery.
The Rev. Karen Clark Ristine, the church’s senior minister explained to the Los Angeles Times why the church felt the Nativity scene was the ideal way to speak out against racism.
“We couldn’t think of any other issue that we wanted to keep under the light of the Bethlehem star than the need to address racism,” Ristine said.
“We don’t want the need for continuing conversation of racism and white supremacy to get lost in news cycles,” she continued. “This is a centuries-old issue that we need to keep wrestling with.”
The idea for the project was birthed out of the church's “Creative Peacemaking” committee, which starts putting ideas together for the Advent season in March. The set, which took two months to make, was constructed by the church’s facilities engineer Genaro Cordova.
www.christianheadlines.com/contributors/milton-quintanilla/california-church-creates-black-lives-matter-themed-nativity-scene.html
According to the Los Angeles Times, the Nativity scene shows Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus in front of a mural of people wearing masks and holding up signs reading “Black Lives Matter” and “I can’t breathe,” along with several other quotes. Some Bible verses and biblical sentiments are also included in the signs, including “Jesus wept,” (John 11:35) and “Do Justice. Love Kindness. Walk Humbly with God,” (Micah 6:8).
While the statue of Joseph kneels beside baby Jesus in the manger, Mary is shown with her arms in the air as she stands in solidarity with the protestors. Above the mural is a list of over 30 names of Black people who have been killed, including the recent deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery.
The Rev. Karen Clark Ristine, the church’s senior minister explained to the Los Angeles Times why the church felt the Nativity scene was the ideal way to speak out against racism.
“We couldn’t think of any other issue that we wanted to keep under the light of the Bethlehem star than the need to address racism,” Ristine said.
“We don’t want the need for continuing conversation of racism and white supremacy to get lost in news cycles,” she continued. “This is a centuries-old issue that we need to keep wrestling with.”
The idea for the project was birthed out of the church's “Creative Peacemaking” committee, which starts putting ideas together for the Advent season in March. The set, which took two months to make, was constructed by the church’s facilities engineer Genaro Cordova.
www.christianheadlines.com/contributors/milton-quintanilla/california-church-creates-black-lives-matter-themed-nativity-scene.html
