A church is hoping to draw attention to refugees this Advent season by placing their nativity in a cage.

East End United Regional Ministry in Toronto says that this Advent season they are working through the theme “What Can’t Wait.” Advent is typically marked by Christians as a season of 'expectant waiting' for the Christmas season, and the arrival of Christ.

"Rather than passively waiting for Christmas to arrive, we are exploring how important it is to be able to know what deserves our attention and in what ways we are being called to act," the church says on their website. "Here at East End United, one of the ways which we have felt can’t wait is justice for migrants and refugees."

That's why the church has placed a depiction of baby Jesus in a manger inside of a cage. The church says "In recent years, there has been growing awareness of the ways in which migrants and refugees face detainment, deportation, and separation from their families."

They call it an art installation, and it was the brainchild of the church's minister Michiko Bown-Kai and co-worker Jane Sanden.

"This art installation is our modern take on the creche tradition which depicts Jesus’ birth in a manger. We believe that we are all made in God’s image, each and everyone (sic) of us. Which is why when we see images of children separated from parents in detention centers we also see the image of an incarcerated Christ. As Christians, our faith calls us to seek justice and to work to build a world where all life and all people are treated as sacred."

They say they want the image of a Saviour as a baby in a cage to serve as a "reminder that at the heart of a season that can become too quickly focused on festivities, celebrations, and gifts - there is a story of a baby’s birth - a brown baby, whose family would be fleeing persecution in the coming years, a descendant of migrants and refugees."

Bown-Kai and Sanden call the detention of migrants an injustice that criminalizes them. "Our hope is that for those of you who have lived this reality or are worried about family and friends living this reality, that this art installation is understood as a sign of solidarity. We see you, we are praying for you, and we are responding to the call to create a better world."

A church in the United States has also made headlines this week doing a similar nativity, which also places Mary and Joseph in separate cages. The depictions have caused varying feedback from the Christian community. Some online commenters think the depictions do well at showing injustice, while others feel the circumstances of modern migrants are different and they should not be trying to enter countries illegally.