Our Response to Hate

Presque Isle UCC

Sep 21

The Presque Isle Congregational Church, United Church of Christ loves its Aroostook County home. We are proud to live where winters are super cold, but where hearts are warm and neighbors care for neighbors. So, what happens when a church building is defaced by graffiti that is meant to diminish or harm others whom we believe are children of God?

**Love is what happens!**

The first thing is we acknowledge that, while we love this building, it is not the church. Our people are the church. We continue to thank God for each precious person who is walking and growing beside us in faith (and in doubt, and questioning!) as Jesus modeled. We cherish our LGBTQ+ brothers and sisters. Our hearts remain committed to the nudges of Christ who calls us, again and again, to be in loving relationship with our neighbors.
What also happened, immediately, is that we were blessed to receive messages of love and support from near and far as the news spreads.
And now we have been encouraged to “do love,” to make that love visible. The Rev. Dr. Diane Langworthy, pastor of United Parish UCC in Fort Fairfield, met with our Church Council to share concern and to propose a collaborative response to the defacing of our church.

**Let’s make our love visible!**

So, to make our love visible, our church (with other churches) invites our members and friends to remember and reclaim Jesus’ call to reject hate. Join us in downloading/printing [click here or on image] or drawing your own sign – NO HATE – that we can all place in our windows with candles during the last week of September.
If you cannot print one, come and pick one up at church this Sunday, September 24. Worship is at 10:00 am, but if you can’t make that, come by and join us for coffee at 11:00 am and get your sign then! (There may even be cookies!)

As we respond to this ugly act, we remember another powerful time of neighborly love when people came together in solidarity with another faith community who experienced hateful graffiti. (See photos below) In 1998, the synagogue in Presque Isle was defaced with swastikas. This town rallied to demonstrate love for the Jewish community. We stood beside them by putting stars of David on our doors, and in the windows of our homes with candles, lighting the darkness with the light of love. Presque Isle made national news for this response, but what was more important to all of us was that we walked beside our neighbors in a way that showed them they were not alone, and that hate has no place in Aroostook County.

In Aroostook County most of us have folks from the LGBTQ+ community whom we know and love. We want them to feel safe. We value their gifts among us. Different churches may have different faith perspectives. This was true in 1998 when we stood beside our neighbors who are Jews. In these days when so many things conspire to pull us apart, we can choose to pull together for our neighbors with love. We can choose to reject hate in our homes. Please join us.

And finally, we ask you to join us in praying for the hurting person or persons who defaced our church. We pray that God brings them connection. We pray that loving neighbors may touch them in ways that will encourage them on a new path of hope.