Hampered by years of theft and a lack of community support and funding, members of Keep Christ in Christmas hope that the popular manger display’s 48th year won’t be its last.
By Paul Sisolak / Special to The Malibu Times
Some may say that the impeccable nativity scene and its carving of Christ in the manger is every bit as Malibu as the Pacific Ocean, the canyons or Zuma Beach. Organizers of this local roadside creche say that their faith in the Christmas spirit has kept the annual tradition going for 48 years despite numerous setbacks over the decades. Keep Christ in Christmas (KCIC) members have endured funding deficits, dwindling membership and property theft, but keep returning to build their traditional nativity scene, soon approaching its 50th anniversary in Malibu.
The Christmas creche, currently on display at the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Webb Way, has borne the brunt of these problems on and off for many years, but still returns each year as Malibu’s capture of the Biblical nativity scene: the birth of Jesus Christ in a Bethlehem stable.
This year, the familiar, lifelike statues of Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the Magi, barnyard animals and an angel atop the creche are joined by a new feature not found in any book of the New Testament – an alarm system and screen designed to deter vandals and looters from bothering the Nativity. It was a costly, but necessary measure, according to KCIC president Jackie Sutton, that boils down to what she says is a growing lack of respect for the sanctity of the Malibu Christmas monument.
“In 45 years we never had to do anything like that,” she said. “But now life is not the same. We’ve taken the steps to protect it a little bit more.”
Sutton said that in the past decade alone, there have been three thefts from the Malibu creche. Two sheep were taken from the site, one of which was later recovered, as was the creche’s angel statue, its support chains cut.
Security problems could be linked to what seems to be a local trend in opposing Christian iconography. This month, ardent atheists in neighboring Santa Monica lobbied for public display space against many of the city’s various nativity scenes, which has had religious groups criticizing the non-believers.
In Malibu, such a dearth of support could be one explanation for the creche robberies, and it most definitely validates KCIC’s own lack of recent financial support. KCIC members – a small group of five volunteers – are actively seeking donations from community members, whom Sutton says have been the bedrock of the group’s mission for nearly half a century.
“All the money we get is to maintain [the creche],” she said. “It’s really the community.”
When the creche was first put on display in 1963 by local resident Mary Markey Kuepper, Malibu had fewer residents, but moral and fiscal support was higher than today. Sutton, KCIC president for the last three years, was intimately involved with building the nativity display from the very start, when local businesses and organizations didn’t secularize their monetary donations just because they weren’t Christian. Today, she said, there is hardly any support from either the existing and new organizations in town (with the exception of local houses of worship and Pepperdine University), so the creche host group relies on donation requests sent out to trusted residents.
The changing shift in religious culture reflects a time when the creche needs funding instead of faith to get by in its current state. Each statue in the nativity display is an original, hand-carved wood piece. Hailing from a monastery in northern Italy, they become more valuable with each passing year, but weathered by time, harsh outdoor elements and near disaster, each statue is showing the signs of cracking and peeling, and is badly in need of restoration, which can cost anywhere from $2,000 to $3,000 each, said Sutton. The stable roof, said KCIC manager Susan Schoen, is also in disrepair. Sutton also added that the group has considered hiring a sculptor to carve a new sheep and replace the piece stolen years ago but never retrieved.
The entire creche structure, which measures about 16-by-12-by-14 feet, is stored with its statue mates during 11 months a year at the Serra Retreat, where the nativity was spared years ago from certain death after surviving a major fire. “Everything else burned to the ground,” Sutton recalled. “That’s our miracle.”
This year, KCIC is down about $4,000, according to Sutton, but despite the loss, it’s not without good reason. The group’s most recent purchase was a public address system for prayer services and caroling held each of the four Sundays before Christmas Day. As of this week, three services have taken place, one more has yet to be held, and all have been well attended.
Sutton says that support for the Malibu creche is there, but more outreach is needed for the group to meet its needs in organizing and restoring the nativity display for 50 years and beyond. It’s uncertain how much life the tradition has left in it. The group does have a formidable amount of backing through sales of T-shirts and bumper stickers, and a sizable donation list that anyone can be added to by visiting the group’s Web site.
While its theme is faith-based, Sutton hopes the creche can survive for years to come, and one day become an attraction for people of all denominations to enjoy.
“I hope we can keep going. People stop by and they’re just amazed, and love it, and say they wish they could have it in their city or town,” Sutton said. “People have supported us. The main thing is we want Christ in Christmas. It’s the reason for the season.”
Keep Christ in Christmas’ Web site is www.malibukcic.org.