Pride flag at Charlotte church shredded by vandals

CHARLOTTE — The shredding of a Pride flag hanging on the exterior of a church near the city’s downtown on Monday night is the latest in a string of “at least half a dozen” vandalism and theft incidents in recent months that have targeted the congregation’s inclusive message, said its pastor.

The rainbow-colored flag hanging on the First Congregational United Church of Christ, at 106 S. Bostwick St., was damaged sometime overnight on Monday and found hanging but “shredded to pieces” on Tuesday morning by church staff, Interim Pastor Jody Betten said.

“There were probably 10 slices through it,” she said on Wednesday. Betten has been serving as the church’s pastor since March of last year.

The flag’s display is in line with the church membership’s vote to become an “open and affirming” congregation in September 2019, Betten said. The church serves approximately 100 members, she said.

“It really is a designation of welcome that we’re not going to discriminate against anyone,” Betten said.

Over the last few years that stance has been met with some resistance locally. Since March 2022 at least half a dozen rainbow flags hung on the church property have been stolen or damaged, Betten said, and a “Black Lives Matter” sign was taken from the grounds in 2021. Church staff have replaced each of the stolen or damaged flags after each incident, Betten said. The congregation’s members remain committed to being inclusive, she said.

Staff did report one of the vandalism incidents to police in June after a Pride flag outside the church was partially ripped away from where staff had hung it, Betten said. Staff had evidence that pointed to who may have done it, she said, and she told an officer with the Charlotte Police Department the congregation wanted it investigated.

A message left with Charlotte police wasn’t immediately returned Wednesday. Dan Plasman, Betten’s husband, said “There’s just a lot of misunderstanding and fear that goes along with those negative reactions.”

In a post on Facebook this week, Plasman shared a photo of the damaged flag. He wrote: “Dear Vandals, Looks like you struck again. Very brave of you. Even disconnected the security camera before ripping the Pride Flag to shreds...There’s not much this church hasn’t seen or experienced, and your insistence to rip apart rainbow flags is more an annoyance than anything else. This church has more flags and plenty of people eager to donate their money and time to keep them flying.”