A bronze statue of a homeless Jesus on a park bench has sparked controversy in the wealthy American suburb of Davidson in North Carolina.
One woman has even called the police, thinking it was a real homeless person asleep on the bench.
The statue shows Jesus’ face, hands and body hidden under a blanket. The only recognisable features are the holes in his feet.
"One woman from the neighbourhood actually called police the first time she drove by," says David Boraks, editor of DavidsonNews.net told NPR. "She thought it was an actual homeless person."
"Another neighbour, who lives a couple of doors down from the church, wrote us a letter to the editor saying it creeps him out," Boraks said.
NPR reported that some locals felt it was insulting to depict the ‘son of God’ in such a demeaning way. It also wasn’t a good look for the community.
St. Alban's Episcopal Church installed the statue on their property as a memorial for parishioner Kate McIntyre. They bought the artwork for US$22,000 (A$23,446).
Despite the mixed reactions, 65-year-old Reverend David Buck told NPR the statue sends a poignant message.
"It gives authenticity to our church," he said. "This is a relatively affluent church, to be honest, and we need to be reminded ourselves that our faith expresses itself in active concern for the marginalised of society."
"We believe that that's the kind of life Jesus had," Buck says. "He was, in essence, a homeless person."
The statue features prominently on the homepage of the church’s website. It reads: “We are blessed to have recently added to our campus the sculpture Homeless Jesus by artist Timothy P.Schmalz of Ontario, Canada.”
Timothy Schmalz, the sculptor and creator of the statue, is a devout Catholic,and said the statue was meant to be confronting.
"That's essentially what the sculpture is there to do," he told NPR. "It's meant to challenge people."
Last November, Schmalz went to the Vatican to present a smaller version of the statue to Pope Francis.
"He walked over to the sculpture, and it was just chilling because he touched the knee of the Jesus the Homeless sculpture, and closed his eyes and prayed," Schmalz said.
"It was like, that's what he's doing throughout the whole world: Pope Francis is reaching out to the marginalised."
