Charlotte church adds ICE agents to nativity scene that aims to 'disturb' passersby

Nora O'Neill, The Charlotte Observer on Dec 11, 2025

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Charlotte church says it wants to “disturb” passersby this Christmas with a nativity scene pictures Jesus, Mary and Joseph with masked immigration agents wearing bulletproof vests and brandishing handcuffs.

The installation went up this week outside Missiongathering Church at 420 East 15th St. in the Optimist Park area and casts the biblical Holy Family as targets of modern immigration enforcement. The church’s pastor said the goal is to force viewers to confront the fear many immigrant families in Charlotte felt following recent immigration arrests in the city.

“The goal is to disturb, to make people feel something” said Rev. Andrew Shipley. “What’s been happening to Charlotte families… is disturbing and is graphic and horrifying.”

He said the installation was created by an outside artist collective called TaskForce, which has created similar installations in cities across the country. Shipley said the group contacted the church by phone and email with the idea and local artists built the Charlotte display.

Shipley said the concept builds on the biblical account of Mary, Joseph and Jesus fleeing violence under King Herod’s rule — a story he believes parallels what many families are experiencing now.

“The goal is to translate the Christmas story into a modern context,” Shipley said. “If the Holy Family had been in Charlotte two weeks ago, they would have been putting the baby Jesus in handcuffs because he wouldn’t have his papers.”

He said that in recent weeks, the church has been helping families who are afraid to leave their homes after U.S. Customs and Border Patrol staged an operation in the city and while Immigration and Customs Enforcement continues making arrests.

Bryan Alexander, who lives across the street from the church and stopped to photograph the display when walking his dog Wednesday, said he first thought it was vandalism. Overall, he said, he supports the statement.

“I like that the church is making an intense statement,” Alexander said. “I love that they’re doing something artistic and edgy with it.”

Alexander said immigration is a complicated issue for him, but he worries about how recent enforcement has unfolded.

“The way they’re going about it, I think it’s just not right,” he said. “A lot of the people they’re taking might not be legal at the moment, but a lot of them are trying, and they’re hard workers. I think they’re great people.”

The church has received backlash and angry phone calls since the display went up, Shipley said. Though he described the response as familiar for the progressive, pro-LGBTQ church.

The shock of the image is the point, he said.

“It should make you uncomfortable,” Shipley said.

He said the display is not meant to ruin anyone’s Christmas, but to challenge how the holiday is often reduced to comfort and cheer.

“Christmas shouldn’t just be about presents,” Shipley said. “Justice requires us to stand up and make a statement, rather than just making sure everybody can sing their carols and go home.”