A Minnesota priest got an unwelcome surprise Sunday.
A group of unknown hooligans sprayed “Slay the priest” and a pentagram on the side of God’s Children Metropolitan Church, a gay welcoming congregation. Though coppers have no leads on the culprits, they’re investigating it as a “bias crime”:
Minneapolis police are still looking for those responsible for spray painting a threatening message on an outside wall of a south Minneapolis church, but they have now classified the incident as a bias crime, said Sgt. Tammy Diedrich.
A police supervisor and a forensic photographer have collected enough information from God’s Children Metropolitan Church to determine that graffiti at the scene was likely left by somebody with a bias against the church. Police did not elaborate.
So, these punks may not be necessarily be homophobic, but they’re certainly anti-religion. Or Christianity, at least. Who knew we’d have an enemy in common with the Christian right? Unless the culprits are of the Christian persuasion and are hateful enough to desecrate a church simply for accepting queers. Quite a mystery…
Ryan Rollinson
This is a really big story for me, as the church in question is both my home congregation as well as right next door to my home. Just a quick note–first, the church’s name is All God’s Children Metropolitan Community Church… and second, the graffiti was especially interesting considering that the church has a pastor, not a priest. It’s bizarre and disturbing all the same, though.
Kevin Wilen
Minneapolis and especially the surrounding suburbs have a huge population of children still living the anti-establishment-marilyn manson-goth fantasy that was ever so popular in the mid 1990’s. I’m sure this wasn’t a biased crime. Just a couple of bored children who have spent too much time at the Mall of America’s Hot Topic yet long to be accepted at Saint Sabrina’s.
Craig Browning
As on “OUT” Pagan, this is very disturbing in that those that follow true Pagan traditions, even Satanism, are not encouraged to do this sort of thing. It is simply wrong!
I don’t care for organized religion either, but I certainly wouldn’t be leading a group along the path of “Let’s Kill Them All”… such actions or attitudes go against the traditions of our people and contrary to the supposition held by some of these misguided fools, the law of three will give to them more than ample return.