Vandals target LGBT+ supportive Worthing church with 'fake Christians’ message

The message was twice written in chalk on the public pavement outside Worthing Baptist Church in Christchurch Road.

"We assume it is a reaction to our putting the Pride flags up recently, in support of Worthing Pride and Pride month,” reverends Mike Parker, senior minister, and Peter Heath, assistant minister, said in a statement to this newspaper.

The church is believed to have been first targeted on Wednesday, June 28. The second incident was reported last Thursday (July 6).

The church said it is is ‘committed to the love and inclusion of all people’, whilst ‘affirming diversity in sexuality, gender identity, ethnicity, age, physical ability, learning disability, neurodiversity and mental health’.

On November 8, 2021, the church agreed on registering its building for same-sex marriage.

The reverends added: “We received an overwhelmingly positive response to this statement and our registering our building for same same-sex marriage.

"We received numerous messages of support and phone calls from other church ministers (from far and wide), parents of of people who are LGBT+ and people from the LGBT+ community, both in Worthing and further afield.

"We also received a couple of negative emails and letters telling us the ‘error of our ways’ and a couple of people have walked/cycled by the building on occasion, shouting out words to this effect. The glass on the door to our main entrance was also smashed, although we don’t know the motivation for doing so.”

Worthing Baptist church said it is ‘wholeheartedly committed’ to being a ‘loving, inclusive community’, that not only welcomes LGBT+ people as they are and for who they are, ‘but which also affirms their sexuality and gender identity’.

A statement read: “We are fully aware that people who are LGBT+ haven’t always had and don’t always have this experience of church. We are so pleased that, since November 2021, even more people who are LGBT+ have joined us, feel loved and play a full part in church life. They have helped make the church even more beautiful in our diversity.

"We knew that we might receive some backlash when we became a fully affirming church and were prepared for that. Our main concern is that, whilst the actual church is a ‘safe’ and affirming space for people who are LGBT+, messages such as those left on the pavement might understandably cause unnecessary upset to people within our church community.”

Sussex Police confirmed an investigation is underway after the force ‘received a report about criminal damage’ at a church in Christchurch Road.

Anyone with information is asked to report it to Sussex Police online, quoting serial 480 of 07/06.

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