UCC Church Covered In Gay Hate Messages & Torched
by The Associated Press
Posted: July 10, 2005 12:01 am ET
(Middlebrook, Virginia) Fire Saturday damaged a church in this Shenandoah Valley community and anti-gay graffiti was found on the outside of the church.
The exterior of St. John's Reformed United Church of Christ also included a message that United Church of Christ members were sinners.
The United Church of Christ endorsed a resolution July 4 endorsing same-sex marriage. The resolution was not binding on the denomination's 1.3 million members. (story)
A member of the Middlebrook congregation discovered the graffiti Saturday morning when he stopped by to mow the grass. He found a small within fire within the sanctuary.
The Middlebrook Volunteer Fire Company put out the fire in a few minutes, Lt. Tim McCray said.
Firefighters removed a stack of burned hymnals. A portion of the choir loft and a pew were also damaged, and the church sustained smoke damage.
A Virginia State Police fire investigator was on the scene Saturday afternoon, but declined to comment.
The endorsement by the United Church of Christ's rule-making body Monday made it the largest Christian denomination to endorse same-sex marriage.
UCC churches are autonomous, meaning the General Synod does not create policy for its more than 5,700 congregations
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