December 24, 2025

By Darcy Fargo
Editor

“I think we need to talk about the elephant in the room,” said Father Scott R. Seymour, pastor of St. André Bessette Parish in Malone.

Father Seymour meant that expression literally. There’s an elephant “in the room” at Notre Dame Church. The elephant is one of 26 pieces of a new nativity set now on display at the church.

“Last year at Christmas, when we were putting out the figurines in the nativity set, it was clear some of the pieces were in tough shape,” said Father Seymour. “Jesus was missing his nose. There were other broken pieces. Some of the figures were large, some were small. It had been hodge podged together from different sets. It was clearly time for a new one.”

Father Seymour approached the parish finance council, trustees and parish council regarding the request.

“They thought it was a good idea, so I did some research and came up with a few different sets,” he said. “I brought them in, laid it all out on a table and let the parish council, finance council and trustees decide which one we should go with.”

The final purchase, a set crafted by German artists, was determined by the votes of those groups. Father Seymour noted, though, that the councils and trustees chose the most expensive of the three options.

“The majority picked the one we have,” he said. “They liked this one because of the elephant. It’s a conversational piece. Then they saw the price tag.”

To ensure the purchase didn’t negatively affect the parish’s finances, a plan to raise funds was developed.

“I thought, ‘Hallmark has Christmas in July! We could as well,” said Father Seymour. “I took a picture of the nativity set and cut out each character. Each one picture included the piece’s price and places to write in a name of the person or family purchasing it and a place to write in who it was purchased in memory of.”

The character cutouts were hung on a Christmas tree, and parishioners committed to covering the cost of all the pieces except one.

“Everyone was wanted except the elephant,” he said. “We could’ve skipped the elephant, but I told the parish, ‘it would be a shame to deprive your pastor of the opportunity to say to you, I’m glad we’re all here to talk about the elephant in the room.’ I put a container at the entrance of the church thinking people could throw in whatever they wanted toward the elephant. We ended up with more than we needed because someone came in and said they’d pay for the elephant.”

The additional donations were used to purchase trees and borders and other trim pieces for the set.

“The kids love the elephant,” the pastor said. “They don’t really talk about any other character in the set. The common question: ‘what’s his name?’”

Father Seymour said kids in the First Communion class have begun calling the elephant Emmett.

“They say he looks like an Emmett,” he said, laughing. “The elephant also creates conversation among the parishioners. I’ve had people say to me, ‘there were no elephants at Jesus’ birth.’ My question, ‘how do you know that?’ There’s no list in the scripture of the animals that were present. All of God’s creatures and all of God’s creation would’ve been welcome that day. In the beginning, God created the world and all the creatures, and he said it was beautiful. He loved what he did. Jesus was born for us. To me, it’s another way of reminding us we’re loved. Even an elephant can find a place at the manger with Jesus.”

The piece has been conspicuously missing one figure, though. Jesus is missing.

“On Christmas Eve, children will carry him in at the 4 p.m. Mass,” said Father Seymour. “So far, no one has seen him except the person who donated the funds to purchase him. Right now, there’s just a sign, ‘O come, O come, Emmanuel.’ There’s a sense of emptiness and longing. The Old Testament prophets talked a lot of waiting for God to come and vindicate us and redeem us and love us. I thought we could create that sense of longing.”

Also missing from the display is a plaque containing the names of all the donors and memorials. The plaque, once completed, will be displayed with the set annually.

The nativity seen also includes a mystery woman.

“Maybe it’s the woman at the well, maybe a shepherdess,” Father Seymour said. “Outside of Mary, we don’t know who may have been there.”

The woman is carrying a jug and placed near additional vessels.

“The jugs foreshadow Jesus’ first miracle – turning water into wine,” said Father Seymour. “A lot of thought and detail went into this. I want people to be able to enter into and caught up with the beauty and with the characters that are there and what it would’ve been like to be standing there when Jesus was born.”