Last weekend, vandals targeted displays of welcome and support for the LGBTQ community at five churches in suburbs west of Boston, a stunning number of incidents in a short timespan.
By comparison, last year there were a total of nine incidents of anti-LGBTQ vandalism in Massachusetts. The vandals targeted a variety of locations, including residences, parks, schools, and at churches in Salem and Jamaica Plain, according to Anti-Defamation League figures.
After a week of prayer and gatherings of unity, the affected congregations in Natick, Framingham, Sharon, Norwood plan to assemble on Sunday at their respective churches for worship.
“Every Sunday, when we gather together with long-time members and newcomers alike, we are welcomed with this phrase: ‘No matter who you are, or where you are in your journey of life and faith, you are welcome here,” the Rev. Michele Bagby Allan, pastor at First Congregational Church Norwood, wrote Friday afternoon in a Facebook post.
Last Sunday, worshippers at a morning service in Norwood discovered welcome flags with rainbow designs had been yanked down, multi-colored Adirondack chairs symbolizing the church’s support for the LGBTQ community had been rearranged, and a rainbow banner reading “Be the Church” had been covered with a black banner, her post said.
Similar scenes unfolded at Christ Lutheran Church and First Congregational Church of Natick, First Congregational Church of Sharon, and St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Framingham, according to the Massachusetts Council of Churches.
At the churches in Sharon and Natick, vandals left a Christian flag and banner reading, “Jesus is King,” according to public statements by the congregation’s religious leaders.
At St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Framingham, a Pride flag displayed outside the sanctuary was removed and replaced with a Christian flag, the Rev. Susan F. Sprowls, the interim rector, said Saturday in an email. A two-page flyer of material offering a “narrow, anti-LGBTQ+ view of scripture passages” was left at the church’s welcome banner, Sprowls wrote.
“We replaced the Pride flag immediately to reflect that St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church remains steadfast in its commitment to proclaiming the love of God for ALL people,” she said.
In Natick, people gathered Thursday evening outside the First Congregational Church to show support for the LGBTQ community, according to the church’s website.
On Friday, the Massachusetts Council of Churches and several other local religious leaders published letters calling attention to the crimes, offering prayers to people who were harmed and the perpetrators, and vowing continued support for the LGBTQ community.
“Sadly, the persons responsible for these attacks left materials indicating they were done in the name of Christ,” said a letter signed by leaders of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, Southern New England Conference of The United Church of Christ, and New England Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
“In response, we declare our unequivocal and unwavering commitment to living out Christ’s welcome to people of every sexual orientation and gender identity and celebrating their full participation and inclusion in our denominations,” they wrote.
Their letter said they have been working with the FBI and local authorities. On Saturday, a FBI spokesperson declined to comment, and messages seeking comment from police in Framingham, Natick, and Norwood weren’t returned. A Sharon police official said no one was available Saturday to comment.
The ADL’s Center on Extremism and GLAAD, a leading advocacy organization for the LGBTQ community, has been tracking a “rising number of attacks against affirming religious institutions.”
In February, the organizations published findings documenting at least 66 incidents nationwide in which religious institutions were targeted over “their perceived support for and inclusion of LGBTQ people.”
The incidents occurred between June 2022 and January of this year, and included vandalism at First Baptist Church in Jamaica Plain.
Last June, the church on Centre Street was defaced with graffiti that said members of the LGBTQ community “should die.” The phrase, “God does not love you,” was written on the base of the steeple area, the Rev. Ashlee Wiest-Laird told the Globe last year.
About three months later, the doors at Tabernacle Congregational Church in Salem were vandalized with anti-LGBTQ graffiti and other symbols of gay pride were defaced in the city.
Police arrested Mohammed S. Rajab, 26, of Beverly, and filed vandalism and hate crime charges against him. The case is pending and Rajab has pleaded not guilty, court records show.
Between July 2022 and last November, there were 38 anti-LGBTQ incidents in Massachusetts, including instances of harassment, vandalism, and an assault, according to ADL data. More than two-thirds of the incidents were harassment, the figures show.
In a statement on its website, First Congregational Church of Sharon said it is reaffirming its commitment to being a “welcoming, open, affirming, and loving church to all people.”
“We will not be bullied into changing who we are and what we believe,” the statement said. “And now more than ever, we will continue to proclaim the Good News of God’s unconditional love for all people, which we see reflected in God’s Rainbow.”
Laura Crimaldi can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her @lauracrimaldi.
