The Billings Gazette is reporting that a week after someone left a stack of anti-gay pamphlets at the gay-friendly Grace United Methodist Church more messages appeared in and around the building, including swastikas and a hastily scrawled “No gays” on the sign board outside.
Grace United has been a vocal advocate of LGBT issues and rights, hosting LGBT gatherings and fighting discrimination within the community.
Pastor Sarah Beck called the recent acts “unacceptable,” and said the congregation had been concerned, not just for the church but also for the people responsible. “That is a sign of some seriously dark stuff,” she said.
Last Sunday, the church hosted a public forum to speak out the against anti-gay literature placed inside the church Jan. 25.
Then on Thursday, church volunteers discovered a swastika painted on the choir room door and more anti-gay literature pinned to a bulletin board inside the room.
Outside on a church sign that reads, “Open doors, open hearts,” someone had scribbled, “No gays.”
“It’s certainly an attempt at intimidation,” Pastor Beck said. “But it’s not going to work. We’re not going to shrink away from being who we are in the community, as a congregation.”
The incident has been reported to the Billings Police Department and the FBI.