11-15 December, 1502 20th Street
From Dolores Quintana
Calvary Baptist Church at 1502 20th Street will once again be home to Santa Monica’s annual Nativity Scene exhibition from December 11 through January 3, 2022.
The Christmas cribs have been a time-honored tradition of the Christmas season since 1953.
The 14 scene exhibit originally had a home in Palisades Park, but after a legal battle spurred by an ordinance enacted in 2003 that restricted unsupervised exhibits in the city. The city opened seats to all residents, but the cribs were displaced by atheists who opposed the exhibition and applied for permits. With the issue causing so much buzz, the city decided to ban all unattended exhibitions in public parks. City officials agreed to the ban, saying they believed the ban actually helped the park and the city budget by lowering the cost of having city staff tend to the exhibitions must and keep the park and its scenic views intact.
The lawsuit, filed in favor of the cribs, went to the 9th District of the U.S. Court of Appeals, where it ruled the ordinance persists and the city did not violate the group’s first amending rights ban on all ads in 2015.
Zachary M. Scribner, chairman of the Nativity Scene Committee, was quoted by the Santa Monica Daily Press as saying, “I am pleased to announce that the Santa Monica Nativity Scene is its 69th annual December The exhibition will be held on January 11th to 3rd, 2022 with life-size scenes of biblical and traditional events around the birth of Jesus Christ. We are deeply grateful to the people of Calvary Baptist Church, their church council and their pastor for giving the cribs a home for another year. “
Schribner also noted that the Nativity Scene exhibition relies on public donations, adding, “The past year has been challenging for everyone in our community and we hope and pray that we can be a beacon of hope for those who do it’s feeling hopeless, “he said. “Last year’s battles had a major impact on the nativity scenes. Financially, we need your help to continue this timeless tradition. The contributions will only be used to cover the exhibition costs, including: construction and dismantling, transport, liability insurance and storage during the off-season. We sincerely thank everyone who has donated in the past and ask for your continued (or first-time) donation. ”As quoted by the Santa Monica Daily Press.
To make a donation, go to the Santa Monica Nativity Scene website’s donations page, which says, “We have been using the same wooden stalls for 30 years to help preserve the Santa Monica Nativity Scene tradition. These wooden booths have been destroyed over the years and hardly hold up. We have set them up in the hope that this will be their last year, believing that we will raise enough money to replace all 14 booths. We NEED your help to make this possible. “
According to the Santa Monica Daily Press, you can also mail a check to PO Box 0648, Santa Monica, CA 90406-0648 that is payable to the Santa Monica Daycare Committee.
To see the ad, as reported by the Santa Monica Daily Press, you can travel down Broadway and head east on 19th Street. To see the rest of the scenes, turn right on 20th Street. Parking is available at parking meters along the street, or you may be able to park in the church parking lot, but that parking lot is limited.
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