This California church keeps rebuilding its vandalized LGBTQ+ Pride display

This story originally appeared on Them.

The First Congregational Church of Fresno — known colloquially as “The Big Red Church” — has experienced a second act of vandalism directed at its LGBTQ-affirming installation of rainbow-colored doors this summer, per a report in local Fox affiliate KMPH.

The doors, which were painted in Pride colors and bore the message “God’s doors are open to all,” were vandalized this weekend, as parishioners discovered early Sunday morning.

“We are disheartened by this incident, but we want the community to know that this will not deter our congregation from opening its doors to all,” The Big Red Church said in a statement to KMPH. "The Big Red Church has been an Open & Affirming congregation for more than 30 years."

Rev. Simon Biasell-Moshrefi, the church’s pastor, told local partner affiliate stations KSEE/KGPE that he was notified at 6 a.m. on Sunday, August 9, that some of the doors had been knocked over and smashed.

“This is unfortunately not the first time that these doors have been vandalized. It happened earlier this summer as well,” Biasell-Moshrefi told KSEE/KGPE.

The damaged doors did not stay down long, as Biasell-Moshrefi said that neighbors reinstalled the display by the time Sunday services had ended.

“By the time everybody exited church, our neighbors had reinstalled the doors and put it back up, which is one of the wonderful things about this neighborhood, the Tower District,” Biasell-Moshrefi said.

The Big Red Church has been a part of the Tower District neighborhood for 76 years, per KSEE/KGPE, and has served as a hub for art and culture in San Francisco. Biasell-Moshrefi said that his congregation is open and affirming, including to LGBTQ+ people, stressing, “We want them to be in our church, and we want them to thrive.”

The church’s open embrace of LGBTQ+ people has also reportedly led to negative and homophobic voicemail and social media messages throughout the years.

“Our church members unfortunately have gotten used to that kind of hate language, that treatment,” Biasell-Moshrefi said. “So while this wasn’t anything new, it’s still painful to experience that kind of treatment.”

The latest instance of vandalism would not deter the church in its mission, according to a statement offered to KSEE/KGPE.

“We believe that all people are sacred creations of a loving God,” the church said.

The Fresno Police Department told KMPH that the incident was not being investigated as a hate crime. The Big Red Church also left a message of resilience on its social media pages.

Alongside a picture of the doors standing tall, the church wrote, “They left a mark. We’ll leave a brighter one.”

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