INNISFIL, ONT. -- A theft and act of vandalism in Innisfil has left Patti Bunston heartbroken.
Tuesday morning, Bunston woke to find the baby Jesus and his manger missing from the nativity scene on her front lawn.
"I'm just very saddened, and I just feel that whoever took this did so because they were upset probably to see Jesus there," she said.
Whoever took the baby Jesus was apparently on a mission and had plenty of muscle. Bunston said Jesus and his manger were secured in place with glue and screws. "It takes a lot of pulling to get this off, and the glue is heavy-duty."
With just two weeks until Christmas, the Innisfil Community Church's pastor is shaking his head in disappointment. "For many people of Christian faith, this is a really sacred time. And Jesus is the reason for the season," Pastor Howard Courtney said.
Bunston plans to add a sign to her nativity scene to drive a message home. "You can take Jesus from my nativity, but you can't take the Christ out of Christmas," she said.
Bunston said the spot where baby Jesus should be swaddled in his manger will remain empty. "For those people seeing it, they're also going to get, I think, more of a message than if the baby Jesus was lying there."
