The more than 1,100 nativities collected from countries all over the world were accumulated by Sam and Carol Raines during their 52 years of marriage. Sam was born in Arizona and raised in the East Texas town of Palestine. Carol was raised in Clifton Forge, Virginia in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley. They married in 1969 and began a life together filled with remarkable experiences. Sam's career in the US military meant travel and stationing in different countries and on different continents. He and Carol weren't content to simply live life; they sought to experience it through service, understanding, and through the many different cultures and people they came to know and love.
Along this journey they discovered that goodness in the world far outweighs bad. The nativities they collected provided them with a cultural and spiritual connection to the artists and individuals who constructed them, often with materials only found where they lived. They were fascinated by the different representations of the birth of Jesus Christ, and sought to share their collection wherever Sam's military career took them. During the Festival of Lights held at the Washington, DC Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, pieces of the Raines collection were displayed in the "Creche Room" of the Temple's Visitor's Center. In 2008, after a lifetime of travel, the couple settled in Bellingham, Washington. There they enjoyed living in the land of Christmas trees and joined Assumption Catholic Church, where Sam served as a Eucharistic Minister, a member of the Parish Council and funeral committee, and achieved his 4th Degree in the Knights of Columbus.
In early 2021, the Sam and Carol sold their entire collection to a family in Maryland. The family promised to share the collection with their community in an effort to bring people together through the cultural uniqueness and spiritual symbolism of the nativities. It is this collection that is on display this Christmas in the churches of our Route 28 Christmas.
The "Raines Collection" is one of the largest and most unique nativity collections in the United States. It is the hope of Sam and Carol that while you enjoy the collection shared with you, you'll be reminded that we are all children of God, that communities come together through selfless acts of service, and that this collection serves in part as their testament of the Divinity of Jesus Christ.
After a fight with cancer, Sam Raines passed on October 20, 2021. On September 25, 2023, Sam was interred at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.
