Flossmoor church restores banner
Congregation doubles down on message of support after vandalism
If a vandal thought the Rev. Jeremy Froyen was going to be deterred from his show of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement by some spray paint on the banner he placed outside the Episcopal Church of St. John the Evangelist, they thought wrong.
In fact, the act, which saw the word “ALL” sprayed over the “Black” portion of Black Lives Matter, only strengthened Froyen’s resolve.
“To me, it proves why we need a sign like that,” Froyen said.
It also galvanized the church and the neighborhood around it to show its support not only for Black Lives Matter but for the Flossmoor church’s decision to speak in support of the movement.
The sign had been in front of the church since mid-June but was vandalized last week. Four days later, the banner — which also reads “We stand with you!” and “Because we are all made in the image of God!” — was back out in front, surrounded by other Black Lives Matter signs and chalk drawings thanks in part to church neighbors.
Froyen said he sees that solidarity as one of several silver linings.
“It’s created relationships with our neighbors we might otherwise not have had,” he said.
Froyen, who has been rector since October 2018, said he decided himself to post the banner but informed the church vestry. While he said it originally raised a
few questions, the church was generally supportive.
“St. John’s membership tends to lean toward the more progressive side,” Froyen said.
Froyen said the message “we stand with you” was particularly important for his church, considering the demographics inside its walls and outside in what he called the “predominantly Black” village of Flossmoor.
“St. John’s is a typical suburban Episcopalian church, very white and trends toward the older side,” he said.
While he said he does not think many in his congregation are racist, “We’re part of a system, whether we like it or not.”
The Rev. Fulton Porter, who serves as rector for St. Thomas Episcopal Church on the Chicago’s South Side, has lived in Flossmoor for 19 years and raised his children there, in large part because of the community’s diversity. He said it was important that Froyen recognizes the makeup of the church does not reflect the demographics of the community, but still elected to “take up that mantle” to recognize people who have been marginalized.
“I was very happy when the sign went up,” he said. “I know Father Jeremy. It didn’t surprise me.”
He also said while Flossmoor has generally been a progressive community, he was not surprised someone chose to damage the banner.
Candice Barrera, a Homewood resident who has attended the church for almost 20 years, said the All Lives Matter sentiment misses the point that needs to be addressed. Black Lives Matter is not about belittling the importance of anyone else’s lives, but focusing on an issue that exists, she said.
“I was not very happy to discover that somebody didn’t have the wherewithal to see that,” she said. “I was very proud of my community of faith that we supported it.”
Froyen said considering the demographics of the neighborhood, he was not entirely surprised by what happened, but still did not expect backlash.
A report filed with Flossmoor police states the incident took place between 10:30 p.m. Aug. 12 and 1 p.m. Aug. 13 on the west lawn of the church’s property at 2640 Park Drive. Police said the church did not have any surveillance images.
Police Chief Tod Kamleiter said that it was the only incidence of vandalism reported in town that evening.
Froyen said he is not expecting anyone to be caught or punished for the act, but thought it was important to have the vandalism committed to public record with the report. He said it is the first act of vandalism since he has been at the church, but said he is trying to turn it into something positive.
“This provided a good opportunity to explain why that’s not OK,” he said.
Froyen did so by taking to Facebook to double down on his support of Black Lives Matter with a public statement.
“Why is it important to loudly proclaim in the public square that Black Lives Matter? Because until now, they haven’t. Not in the policies and actions of our nation, not in our communities and not even in our Church, which once gave ‘biblical’ justification for the institution of slavery,” he wrote.
“The Church must stand up with our Black friends and neighbors and sisters and brothers in Christ and say ‘Black Lives Matter,’ and continue to do so until our actions prove that Black lives, and Hispanic lives, and Muslim lives and Indigenous lives really do matter. Only then can we even try to say that ‘All Lives Matter’ with a straight face.”
Froyen said he posted the statement to be true to his faith.
“We are called to speak out against injustice,” he said. “This is a time for the church to act and be who we say we are. Being silent is more of an indictment against us.”
Froyen said the breadth of positive responses to his statement opened his eyes to an impact he did not fully understand when he posted the banner.
“Half of the responses were people I didn’t know,” he said. “What I realized is how many of our neighbors appreciated the sign. That was heartening.”
The Rev. Julie Van Til, who since June 1 has overseen Flossmoor Community Church, said it is good to know St. John the Evangelist has stood strongly by what is, in essence, a Gospel message.
“They are a wonderfully welcoming church in a diverse environment that cares a lot about its community,” Van Til said. “I think many of my pastor friends and churches were struggling to show suffering members of our community that we stood with them.”
Van Til said it saddens her that someone responded to the message in a destructive manner, and hopes those on a “journey of understanding” can find better ways to wrestle with these issues.
“In a religious context, we want to believe all lives do matter,” Van Til said. “This moment in time calls us to grapple with the fact that that’s not true yet.”
The village of Flossmoor also issued a statement Aug. 20, saying it prides itself on being a welcoming, diverse and inclusive community, noting many community members have posted Black Lives Matter signs on their property.
“As a community, we are troubled by someone’s lack of understanding of the Black Lives Matter movement and, by reframing this movement to ‘All Lives Matter,’ someone is minimizing the systemic racism that Black Lives Matter is drawing to our attention,” it read.
The village also reminded the public that criminal defacement of property is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail, and asked anyone with information regarding the incident to call police at 708-9574500.
Froyen said he is ultimately happy the sign got the suburban community talking, but he does not want this to be where it ends. He is hoping to see further anti-racism campaigns at a diocesan level, and he hopes to be involved in them.
“Obviously, putting a sign out is making a statement, but that can’t be the end of our conversation,” Froyen said. “This is one of those watershed moments. People have had enough this year of just about everything. We can speak about justice, but words at a certain point are just words.”
Bill Jones is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.