Uniontown churches vandalized
Someone vandalized two Uniontown churches recently by painting the message “LGBT Haters” on their properties.
LGBT is a common abbreviation for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender.
The vandal painted the message in white on a red, side door at St. Peter’s Anglican Church, located at 60 Morgantown St., and a glass sign in front of Great Bethel Baptist Church, located at 47 W. Fayette St., on Wednesday night. Church staff discovered the messages Thursday morning and removed them.
“We do not hate. That’s not who we are. We treat people with compassion and grace,” said the Rev. John T. Cruikshank, rector of St. Peter. “It doesn’t matter if I agree with someone’s lifestyle or not, we do not hate anyone.”
Rev. Scott Hoppe, pastor of Great Bethel Baptist, agreed.
“We may not agree with a lifestyle, but we do not hate the person or exclude them from attending here.”
Cruikshank said the phrase was painted on the side door that is used by the congregation to enter the church from a parking lot behind the building.
Hoppe said the message was painted on one of two signs in front of the church. The day before, Hoppe said, someone painted an obscenity on the sign. Officials at St. Peter’s contacted Uniontown police, but those at Great Bethel did not. Police said no other incidents were reported and no one has been apprehended.
St. Peter’s formerly belonged to the Episcopal Church and broke ties after the 2003 ordination of Gene Robinson of New Hampshire as the Church’s first openly gay bishop.
Cruikshank said, “We did break away from the Episcopal Church but the sole reason was not the ordination of an actively practicing homosexual as bishop. It centered more on who Jesus Christ is as the son of God and the pathway to God. The Episcopal Church believes he is one of the pathways. We say he’s the only pathway.”
Since the vandalism was against more than one church, Cruikshank said, “I think it’s someone who thinks all Christians hate people who are different and that’s just not true.”
Paula Johnston, Southwestern Pennsylvania chapter leader for Marriage Equality for Pennsylvania, said, “I’m sad to hear this. This certainly doesn’t help our cause. My group would never endorse that type of reaction.”
She continued, “We try to change things through rallies, the political process, letter writing. We don’t endorse any kind of that activity at all.”