Claremont Unified Methodist Church is no stranger to creating controversy during the holiday season.
What We Know:
- Claremont Unified Methodist Church, located in Los Angeles, California, has set up their annual nativity scene. Unlike other nativity scenes, the church’s annual display addresses injustices in the United States that have occurred within the current year.
- This year, the church decided to address racial injustice in America, creating a Black Lives Matter scene. According to CBS Los Angeles, the scene shows religious figures Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus surrounded by masked protestors holding up signs that say “I can’t breathe” and “Black Lives Matter.” At the top of the scene, the names and dates of hundreds of black men and women who lost their lives to police brutality in America are displayed.
- In a statement for the Daily Bulletin, Associate Pastor Martha Morales addressed the theme of this year’s scene, stating, “There could have been lot to choose from this year from but at the end we still felt this was a concern that is easily lost among all the others: the plight of those who are marginalized and systemically forgotten by our society or pushed to the side. We felt we needed to highlight the continuing oppression of the Black community.”
- In previous years, the Claremont Unified Methodist Church’s nativity display has touched on other social issues like refugees in cages, the Iraq War, the murder of Trayvon Martin, and homelessness.
Church officials stated that their goal is not to create conflict but incite meaningful conversations among people to address uncomfortable yet highly important issues.
