It is an outrage that one of the latest villainous attacks against the LGBTQ+ community happened right on Main Street in Newtown.

In the shadow of the flagpole, sometime between 4 pm Saturday, August 12 and 8:30 am Sunday morning, August 13, some devious person or persons broke the wooden sign frame in front of the Trinity Episcopal Church to remove a replica of the diversity and inclusion flag that had been installed in March. Presumably, the same disgusting person or persons also removed a matching sign from the Trinity sign along the church’s rear driveway adjacent to the Newtown Hook & Ladder headquarters.

While the larger upper portions of both signs that so inclusively proclaim “All Are Welcome” were spared, the removal of the colorful and distinctive recent additions — which Trinity Pastor Andrea Castner Wyatt said stood as “an expression of our theological and spiritual values” — should rattle everyone in this community to their core.

The diversity and inclusion signs were approximately 8 by 11 inches each, and featured the Intersex-Inclusive Progress Pride Flag: a yellow triangle on the left with a purple circle inside it, then arrow shapes of white, hot pink, turquoise, brown and black, pointing toward a red-to-violet stacked rainbow of horizontal lines on the right.

The signs were constructed using decals mounted onto foam core sign material, protected by sturdy clear plastic, and attached between horizontal slats at each location. During the theft, the slats holding each of the smaller signs were damaged. In fact, the upper slat on the Main Street sign was completely snapped, signaling the degenerate perpetrators had to apply some effort — and take some time to remove them.

Wyatt reminded The Newtown Bee, our readers, and the community, these signs were in no way installed as a political statement. They immediately sent a bright and simple message to all who passed, complementing the community’s Nicer in Newtown credo welcoming and embracing all people.

As Wyatt so devoutly and diplomatically related to us: “...we believe that all people are loved by God, and are in fact made in the image of God, and that tells us something about the nature of God. God is inclusive and diverse, and God represents love, in ways that we cannot even fathom.”

She also shares our sentiment in saying this classified hate crime strikes at the heart of the entire Newtown community. This crime, however, will not deter the mission that has been a hallmark of the Trinity congregation, which has served Newtown since 1732 and continues to open its doors for all kinds of people.

“While we were saddened by this act of violence,” Wyatt assured, “it in no way diminished our outreach.” Conversely, she affirmed the theft and vandalism will only increase and amplify Trinity’s commitment to service.

Although this incident might rightly justify rage in many of us, Wyatt and other congregation members displayed the true and good light within their own souls in the face of this wicked act. Among the first responses by Trinity’s members in light of their discovery that Sunday morning was “to pray for the perpetrators, that their hearts might be transformed away from hatred into love of neighbor.”

Then, turning their light outward to all who pass, visit, or seek the comfort of Trinity’s welcoming inclusion, Wyatt and her constituents assured us all that, of course, the signs will be replaced.