‘Jesus was a refugee,’ declares church’s Nativity display in Claremont

A church in Claremont is once again connecting a 2,000-year-old story to current events.

Off Foothill Boulevard in front of Claremont United Methodist Church, a billboard-like vinyl banner updates the Nativity to focus on fears in immigrant communities.

The banner, about 8 feet by 16 feet and mounted above a wooden platform, has a cartoon illustration of an urban street scene at night. A young Latino couple stands warily in the foreground, their infant son in a chest sling against his mother.

“We cannot remain silent. Jesus was a refugee,” the message reads. “In his name we are called to protect them all.”

The church’s annual Nativity has been a source of fresh thinking, and occasional consternation, for nearly 20 years. Instead of a traditional manger with lowing cattle, straw and swaddling clothes, the holy family is depicted in modern dress and a contemporary context.

As a Claremont resident, I’ve checked out the scenes most years and admired their chutzpah.

Nativities are so familiar and soothing, it’s easy to forget the biblical narrative’s dire circumstances. A mother with a child conceived out of wedlock; King Herod ordering the murder of any infant in Bethlehem; the holy family, in poverty, unable to find shelter; Mary giving birth in an unsanitary barn.

In the Claremont Methodist scenes, a staple nearly every year since 2007, the family has been depicted as prisoners, as war refugees and as border crossers, or the message has involved climate change, Black Lives Matter or gun violence.

One year Mary was a homeless mother, holding her newborn in a makeshift bus stop, shopping cart beside her.

Another year, the manger was inside a wire cage, flanked by Joseph and Mary reaching toward him from separate wire cages. That was a commentary on America’s 2019 policy of family separation at the border.

That scene received national attention. So did 2013’s Nativity, which in the foreground had a bleeding Trayvon Martin. After I wrote about it, the news was picked up by larger and larger outlets, going viral. (Ehh, it’s a living.)

Claremont’s 2025 scene referencing immigration raids has echoes elsewhere in the nation.

Near Boston, the Christ child is missing, replaced by a sign reading “ICE was here.”

Outside Chicago, one church’s Nativity has Jesus’ tiny hands bound by zip ties, with Mary flanked by Roman soldiers in tactical vests labeled “ICE.” In another parish, the Nativity is empty, with a sign of explanation: “Due to ICE activity in our community, the Holy Family is in hiding.”

Note that Chicago, Boston and Los Angeles County, where Claremont is located, have all been targeted by ICE, directly affecting communities and church members.

Critics say the scenes use religious imagery for divisive political purposes. Supporters counter that the scenes speak truth to power.

I like the contemporary framing. It might get you thinking. But I understand how some would find the message pushy or inappropriate.

That said, you might recall the life of the adult Jesus. He aided society’s downtrodden, and was harassed by authorities for it, until he was tortured to death by the government.

But by all means, tell us how the Gospels support the status quo.

In Claremont, the outdoor scene — on a service road at 211 W. Foothill Blvd., between a drive-thru bank and a former theological school — is best viewed at night. A light at the top of the image is shaped like a star, shining brightly.

A statement from the church, on a stand next to the display, reads in part:

“Our nativity depicts the holy family, who had to flee government-sanctioned violence as refugees, in solidarity with our immigrant neighbors today who are being targeted, kidnapped, separated, placed in inhumane conditions and deported.”

In the scene’s background is a silhouetted figure, said to represent “an ICE agent who is targeting the holy family and our neighbors in everyday places.”

The statement begins with a quotation from Leviticus 19:33-34, which reads in part: “You shall treat the immigrant who sojourns with you as one of your own, and you shall love them as yourself.”

On the church’s Facebook page, Donna Biroczky quoted a different Bible verse in her dissenting comment: “Governments are established by God, so disobeying them is disobeying God (Romans 13:1-2).”

Really? That would be music to the ears of government leaders in China or North Korea, where the Bible is a banned book.

On the same Facebook post, R.J. Coronado wrote: “Joseph and Mary were not refugees, they went to Bethlehem because they had to return to Joseph’s ancestral home to be counted in the census. So Trump is just following that example and sending people HOME per a legal requirement. If they want to immigrate LEGALLY, they can fill out the paperwork before they leave and self deport.”

Next year, the Nativity can depict the holy family filling out paperwork.

Then again, Patty Amato wrote: “Love this! Thank you so much, Claremont United Methodist Church — a true Christian witness for justice and love of neighbor.”

The church’s married co-pastors, Jay Campbell and Katie Monfortte, gave an interview to CBS LA that aired Dec. 9.

“God in human flesh also had to flee being oppressed and targeted,” Campbell told the station’s Nicole Comstock.

Monfortte said: “I’m a Mexican American immigrant, so many of us are feeling this very deeply.”

My own requests for an interview were less successful, despite my living blocks away from the church. I left a voicemail Dec. 12 and again on Tuesday and sent a message via the church’s website Tuesday, getting zero response.

As a hail Mary, if you’ll pardon the expression, I walked to the church Wednesday morning to try my luck in person. It turns out the church is closed Wednesdays. Oh well.

Despite the Nativity banner’s message that “we cannot remain silent,” you wouldn’t know it by me.

Passersby are few on the walking path past the church, but while there on Wednesday morning, I snagged one. Philip Schmidt hadn’t noticed the scene until I drew it to his attention.

He took a look and smiled.

“I think anything that has to do with Jesus and the reason for the season, however anyone wants to do it, is phenomenal,” Schmidt told me. “With all the stuff going on in the world, you know?”

I do.

David Allen writes about stuff Friday, Sunday and Wednesday. Email dallen@scng.com, phone 909-483-9339, and follow davidallencolumnist on Facebook or Instagram, @davidallen909 on X or @davidallen909.bsky.social on Bluesky.