METHODIST MINISTER ASKS EVANGELICALS: CONDEMN CHURCH ATTACKS

Vandalism at four downtown Washington churches after rallies in support of President Donald Trump is exposing rifts among people of faith as the nation confronts bitter post-election political divisions, Elana Schor reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Among the damaged houses of worship were two historically Black churches where people ripped down Black Lives Matter banners, with video posted to social media showing one banner being burned.

Those defacements – which are being investigated as possible hate crimes, according to the police – raised questions among some clergy and churchgoers about why more fellow Christians, especially White, were not speaking out against the incidents. The story was also carried by HuffPost.

The Rev. Dr. Ianther Mills, senior pastor at Asbury United Methodist Church (Asbury UMC), issued a statement Sunday likening the torched banner to a cross burning and said Monday that she hopes more evangelical Christians condemn the destruction.

Mills also underscored that she didn’t “want to make this into a political statement” and said her intention was to “move us all to greater healing and to more of a commitment to building a beloved community where all are welcome.” The church plans a Thursday prayer service to help foster unity and healing, she said.

The nearby Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church (Mount Vernon UMC) reported that vandals slashed a banner printed with colors supporting LGBTQ rights and rejecting “acts of hate or violence” against others, pastor Donna Claycomb Sokol said.

She added that the episode at her church was “incredibly minor compared with what happened to our neighbors” and urged that attention be paid to the damage at Asbury and Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, both historically Black institutions.

“People need to denounce it and call it an act of racial violence,” Claycomb Sokol said.

“People who have been really quick to be silent need to wrestle with what actually took place on our streets on Saturday, and how silence can actually be a sign of support, of complicity.”

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