Sunday worship at Life in the City United Methodist Church in South Austin started with a jolt. Congregants arrived to find the church’s Progress Pride mural splashed with the words “Pride 1st Sin,” a fresh layer of hateful graffiti on a wall meant to signal welcome.
The congregation said the vandalism, discovered Sunday morning, is the second attack on the church in nine months.
According to CBS Austin, church leaders reported the damage that same day and filed a police report. “Hate has no place in this sanctuary,” Artistic Director Crystal Paull said in a statement, adding that the congregation remains committed to radical inclusion.
Hit Before, Painted Back Stronger
The mural that was hit this week was itself born out of a previous act of vandalism. Last August, vandals tore down the church’s Progress Pride flag and painted “Pride was the 1st sin” on the building, local outlets reported.
Volunteers refused to let that be the last word. Within hours, neighbors and congregants turned the damage into a double Progress Pride mural, a rapid response highlighted by FOX 7 Austin.
Police Report Filed as Church Doubles Down on Welcome
On its website, the congregation describes itself as “radically inclusive,” with a mission to “offer the radically inclusive love of God,” and lists its address as 205 E. Monroe St. in the Travis Heights neighborhood, according to Life in the City United Methodist Church.
Church leaders told reporters that the latest defacement “only strengthen[s] our mission,” and said they will continue to stand with the LGBTQIA+ community, according to CBS Austin.
Neighbors who helped paint the earlier mural told local outlets that the fast restoration became a point of pride for the block, and volunteers again stepped up as the church cleaned up this week. Coverage of the previous restoration captured how the congregation and nearby residents turned an act of hate into a highly visible statement of welcome, as reported by FOX 7 Austin.
