The baby Jesus is away from the manger, and it s not by choice.

Sometime over the weekend, someone stole the ceramic statue from the Nativity scene on the front lawn of St. Paul s Evangelical Lutheran Church on East Wayne Street in Maumee.

Ironically, members of the church have been rehearsing a Christmas play called Stolen Jesus, but they never thought its plot would become a real-life drama.

“This isn t some wonderful publicity stunt,” said the Rev. Tyler Dunlap, teaching pastor. “We filed a police report, and we re offering a reward.”

The statue has been displayed in a creche on the church s lawn for eight years, but this is the first time that baby Jesus has been the target of criminals.

It is also the first year that St. Paul s is presenting Stolen Jesus on Christmas Eve.

John Stout, a church member who owns the Nativity statues, noticed the figure missing after a church breakfast on Saturday.

“He called the police and asked if he should file a missing person report, or just a theft,” said the Rev. Roger Miller, senior pastor of the 1,500-member church.

Stolen Jesus, a play created by Willow Creek Community Church near Chicago, is about a Nativity scene in a large city that is vandalized.

“All that remains of the Nativity is the stable, hay, and empty manger,” Mr. Dunlap said of the play.

The drama makes people think about the meaning of Christmas in their lives, he said.

The thief could not have been tipped off by the media about the play because it only has been advertised in the church bulletin, Mr. Dunlap said.

Church members decided yesterday to offer a reward for the return of baby Jesus, which has been in the Stout family for decades and whose value is “priceless,” Mr. Miller said.

“We decided to offer a basket of Christmas goodies - and also a special blessing,” he said.

First Published December 17, 2003, 1:49 p.m.