Open Heart Ministry for Powell River United Church representative Doe Fraser received an unexpected phone call in the morning of Wednesday, November 22, from Chip Paquette, a retired police officer. Paquette reported that it looked like black paint was splattered on the rainbow coloured stairs at the church, located at 6932 Crofton Street,
“There were people who went to the church for a meeting at 9:30 am this morning,” said Fraser, later in the day. “Chip walked by around 10:15 am and called me to tell me about the black paint on the church stairs.”
Fraser said when she arrived at the church, she saw the paint was still wet and splattered sporadically and on both sides of the rainbow coloured stairs. To Fraser and other members of the church, the paint splatter looked intentional, and possibly vandalism. Five people from the church worked for more than an hour to remove the still wet paint, said Fraser.
“We had the qathet Pride youth group paint the stairs in the spring,” said Fraser. “The church has also been more visible about our stance on welcoming everyone into the church on our social media page.”
The increased visibility of the LGBTQ2+ community and allies in qathet has seen some backlash, but Fraser thinks that comes with the territory of societal change and acceptance. She remembers fighting for women's rights decades ago and witnessing backlash from all sides.
“We have leftover rainbow paint and we will repaint when the weather temperature permits,” said Fraser. “We are going to repaint and put a big heart at the end of the stairs that says ‘love wins!’'”
The incident has been reported to Powell River RCMP.
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