Pride Banner Torn Down, Trashed At Forest Hills Church, Reverend Says

FOREST HILLS, QUEENS — When Reverend Dr. Fred Weidmann showed up at his Forest Hills church ahead of last Sunday's worship service he noticed something was missing immediately.

"Right when I arrived I was like, 'where's the banner?'" he recalled, alluding to a rainbow banner hung a couple days earlier in the entryway of The Church-in-the-Gardens, where he is minister.

The banner — a piece of merchandize from the Protestant denomination with which the Forest Hills church is affiliated — was hung at the church in honor of Pride month and emblazoned with the phrase "A Just World For All."

From messages left by a neighbor, Weidmann later learned that someone ripped down the banner and stuffed it in a nearby trash can between 4:30 p.m. Saturday — when the last church employee left the building — and 7:40 p.m. that same day — when a neighbor found and recovered it.

"I was shocked since it has a very inclusive message which well reflects Jesus Christ," Weidmann said. "I hope it also would reflect what any resident of this nation would believe, which is the message of justice for everybody."

Police, who are looking into the incident according to the minister, told Patch they didn't have anything on record as of Wednesday morning.

Weidmann hopes that respectful conversation could come out of the process of figuring out who tore down the banner.

"I am praying for the person who did this or anybody who feels that way," he said. "I would be happy to talk with them about what got them so riled that they felt they had to do harm to our property and symbolically do harm to a vast number of people who identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community."

Weidmann said it's important to him that queer people still feel welcome at The Church-in-the-Gardens.

"It's a positive statement on the times we live in that so many churches are inclusive, but if you're part of the LGBTQ+ community you might not believe that after something like this," he said. "We want you to know that if you're a part of that community you are always welcome here."

The church ordered a new version of the same flag and plans to hang it in the same spot — but higher up — by Friday; a move that Weidmann believes is widely supported by his congregation.

Since the banner was trashed, people have reached out on social media, over the phone and on the street alike to ask that it be put back up, he said — sentiments of support largely echoed on social media.

"A terrible action that clearly does not reflect the sentiments of our community," wrote one neighbor in response to a Facebook post announcing the banner was trashed.

"That's disgusting!" echoed another. "It's so narrow-minded of someone to have done this."

Others, though, pointed out that news of the banner had initially been met with some homophobic comments.

"Based on the shockingly hostile comments from THIS group to the posts showing the rainbow flag hung on the church, sadly, the vandalism is FAR from surprising," one neighbor said in response to news of the teardown.

"That's awful, but not surprising..." another commented.

Asked if the banner teardown felt out of place in his community, Weidmann, who became minister three months ago, said yes.

"I'm new as of February, but in my experience everybody I've met with formally and informally has been very inclusive," he said. "I hope that continues to be the case."