Hartford Church Vandalized With Anti-LGBTQ+ Slur

HARTFORD, CT — A Hartford church known for welcoming "all races, ages, ethnicities, gender, and sexual identities" was vandalized with an anti-LGBTQ+ slur earlier this month.

Immanuel Congregational Church sports a rainbow-painted walkway to represent its "vision as the church that loves," its website says.

That walkway was the very thing that was covered in graffiti last week, according to Brian Donohue, an Immanuel churchgoer and founder of an inclusive group of nearly 800 people called "Not Just Us."

"We believe no matter where you are on the walk in your faith ... You are welcome at our church," Donohue wrote on Facebook Sunday. "Unfortunately not all people believe we should be equals and treat people the same way. This past week someone defamed the walkway into the church."

He continued: "We don’t believe in this way of thinking. We believe we act out our faith. We need to be siblings in life with each other. We should be working with each other to build each other up and not work to tear each other [down.]"

Patch reached out to the Hartford Police Department, which said that they are "aware of the incident and it is currently under investigation." No other information was provided about the crime.

The incident occurred ahead of Hartford Pride, which will be held on Church Street Saturday between 12 p.m. and 6 p.m. Immanuel is a sponsor and will have a table at the event.