Last Sunday, worshipers 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. 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.
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.