Baptist church vandalized days after erecting wall

VICTORIA — A downtown Victoria church that installed a wall last week to stop people from doing drugs near its entrance was vandalized ahead of its holiday services.

Those on their way to Christmas morning service Sunday at Central Baptist Church at 833 Pandora Ave. walked past a black scribble of spray paint, which covered the vandal’s message: “Hategate? #WWJD.”

The letters stand for the phrase “What would Jesus do?”

An Our Place client named Dan, who was walking past Central Baptist but does not attend the church, was upset to see the vandalism.

Our Place provides outreach services that includes help for the homeless and those with substance abuse problems.

“I’m a recovering addict, but I wouldn’t do it (drugs) just anywhere and I wouldn’t deface something like this. The day this happened, (church members) were sponsoring a breakfast at Our Place,” Dan said.

He doesn’t believe it’s the church’s responsibility to provide shelter for the homeless and said if he were in a better financial position, he would do something to help clean up the vandalism. “I’m not, but I was thinking of calling a graffiti-removal company, because it really bothered me.”

A couple on their way into the church who asked not to be named said they supported the decision to erect the wall.

“They’ve tried a number of things and it wasn’t working. So the last thought was to put this fence up,” one of them said.

The vandalism itself was not important, he said, since the church is regularly vandalized.

“There’s graffiti on the wall behind there anyway,” he said.

— Victoria Times Colonist