Vandalized church reacts to anti-LGBT+ graffiti with message of love
St. Petersburg, Fla. – Allendale United Methodist Church in St. Petersburg is a progressive, pro-LGBT+ church. So the congregation wasn’t particularly surprised when its sign was vandalized with anti-LGBT graffiti.
The words “gay pastor” were spray painted on the sign. But instead of cleaning off the sign, they decided to turn it into a message of love.
The church’s Facebook page said, “Allendale was again the target of vandalism. LGBTQ people are more likely to be targets of hate crimes than any other minority group. We will leave the spray paint up, surrounded by signs of love, to make visible the often invisible harm that the LGBTQ community receives every day.”
They put the words “Love always wins” next to the graffiti, along with some hearts. The original message on the sign was a call for Floridians to overturn the ban on convicted felons from voting for life. Vandalism is a felony in Florida.
The church wrote, “We are also taking this opportunity to tell the vandalizer that should they be arrested, we will fight for the restoration of their rights through the passage of Amendment 4.” Amendment 4 would overturn the ban.
The church also isn’t taking the vandalism lying down. They said, “Thanks to members of the community who raised funds, we already have a new sign on order from July when someone threw a brick. We also have cameras to install.”
So vandals beware. The next time, you may be caught.
Copyright The Gayly – September 26, 2018 @ 3:30 p.m. CDT.