Content Warning: racist, antisemitic, and homophobic language used in vandalism.
Episcopal churches in Maryland and Indiana were vandalized with pro-Trump, racist messages last night. In Silver Spring, Maryland, the Church of Our Savior, Hillandale found “Trump nation whites only” scrawled in rough black letters on a brick wall in their memorial garden and on the back of the banner advertising their Spanish-language services. The banner was also slashed. St. David’s Church in Bean Blossom, Indiana was spray painted with a swastika and the phrases “fag church” and “heil Trump.”
Church of Our Savior, Hillandale is one of the most diverse churches in the Diocese of Washington, and is in a predominantly Latinx neighborhood. The hateful message came as a huge shock, but the community pulled together this afternoon for the regular Spanish-language mass, which was reportedly “jam packed” according to the Facebook page of the Diocese of Washington. With Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde, attendees wrote messages of love on the sidewalk in chalk and covered the vandalism with signs saying “love wins.”
At St. David’s in Bean Blossom, they have left the messages up in hopes of fostering dialogue. “We are disappointed that our safe haven has been vandalized but will not let the actions of a few damper our love of Christ and the world. We will continue to live out our beliefs and acceptance of all people and respecting the dignity of every human being,” reads the statement on their Facebook page. Bean Blossom is a small community south of Indianapolis, in Brown County.
