CLAREMONT, California – Police are calling the defacing of a non-traditional Nativity scene during the Christmas holiday in front of a Claremont church a hate crime.
The Nativity display featured silhouettes of gay, lesbian and heterosexual couples holding hands.
KTLA-5 News reported that officials at the Claremont United Methodist Church said vandals knocked over the two homosexual silhouettes and broke them.
“Because of the content of the artwork that was damaged and the fact that it was on a place of worship or at a church (it is labeled a hate crime),” said Claremont police Lt. Mike Ciszek.
The Rev. Dan Lewis of Claremont United Methodist Church said he was saddened by the incident. “We have members of our church who are gay and lesbian, who it sends a very personal message to,” said Lewis, who learned of the vandalism on Christmas Day. “I tried to say in worship on Sunday morning that we will not let it trouble us.”
For the past six years, church member and artist John Zachary has designed and built a scene on the church’s front lawn. The scene has had controversial themes before, but this was the first about gay couples.
The silhouettes were anchored into the ground, said Zachary. “I don’t think one person could have done it,” he said.
Rev. Lewis said he believed the vandalism came from someone who was upset at the church’s interpretation of the Nativity. “We don’t want to invoke hate or violence,” he said.
