An LGBTQ-affirming church in Florida responded to homophobic vandalism with a message of love.

Allendale United Methodist Church in St. Petersburg, Florida has a history of using its marquee to advocate for minority communities and socially progressive ideas. Their most recent message advocated for an amendment that would restore voting rights to most felons, following completion of their sentences, which is up for a vote in November.

Sometime over Sunday night, or the early hours of Monday morning, someone spray painted their own message over it: “Gay pastor.”

The church, whose pastor is not gay but which is welcoming of the LGBTQ community, put, “Love always wins” on the right side of the homophobic graffiti, and rainbow hearts on the left. They also updated the other sign of the sign to read, “Vandalism is a felony that shouldn’t take away your vote for life! Vote yes on Amendment 4.”

“We wanted to turn this message into something really positive,” Rev. Andy Oliver told 10News. “So much of the harm that’s done to the LGBTQ community day after day happens invisibly and we wanted to make something very visible but show a positive response to it.”

“Even a felony like vandalizing a sign shouldn’t take away your vote for life,” Oliver added. “We want to let that person know they’re forgiven and would be welcome here to join us.”

Mayor Rick Kriseman shared his support for the church on Facebook, and said the incident “shows that we still have work to do, and why we fight every single day to create a climate of inclusion.”

A new sign is already on the way, as someone threw a break through the sign in July and the congregation raised money for a new one, as well as cameras to prevent future actions. It is expected to be installed next month. Police are investigating the vandalism.

A local news report follows.



