Community members repainted the vandalized area on Saturday morning.
AUSTIN, Texas — Community members came together on Saturday morning to paint over vandalism spray painted on a LGBTQ-friendly church in South Austin.
Life in the City UMC said its pride flag was torn down on Thursday night and a message saying, “Pride was the first sin,” was spray painted on the front of the building.
“Sadly, our beautiful church space was vandalized and our LGBTQ+ Pride flag was torn down today by those who clearly oppose our mission of radical inclusivity in Christ,” the church stated in an Instagram post on Friday night. “At Life in the City, we strive to welcome those on the outside to the inside of the circle because Jesus’ greatest commandment was for us to love our neighbor as ourselves. And we will continue to do that, even to those who chose to deface our church building…as we know, the church is not the walls, it is the people and the community. As the great spiritual says, we shall NOT be moved, except toward bringing the ‘kin-dom’ of God to earth, where all of God’s precious children are loved and affirmed.”
According to Pastor Glenn Luhrs, this isn’t the first time the church has been vandalized.
Luhrs issued a statement on Saturday morning, saying the church will not deviate in its mission despite the incident.
“Today, our church building was vandalized and our Progress Pride flag was torn down. This act was meant to threaten the mission we hold sacred: offering the radically inclusive love of God in Christ for the health and wholeness of mind, body, and spirit.
“Sadly, this is not the first time hateful rhetoric has appeared on our walls. And it comes at a time when our city is already hurting. Just days ago, a transgender woman was assaulted at Barton Springs. These are not isolated events. They are part of a growing pattern of violence and dehumanization targeting LGBTQIA+ people and other marginalized communities.
“Let us be clear. Life in the City stands firm in our call to love our neighbor, without exception or condition. Our faith compels us to protect, uplift, and advocate for the dignity of all people, especially those who are targeted, silenced, or pushed aside. That includes our LGBTQIA+ family, women, and anyone whose identity is used as justification for harm.
“The outside of our building may have been damaged, but our spirit has not. Our commitment to love, justice, and inclusion only grows stronger. And our doors will remain open to everyone always, all ways.”
On Saturday morning, a creative restoration project got underway as community members painted over the vandalized area.