Our neighbors sense this, even if they don’t understand it. We love our city and our neighborhood because Jesus loved us and loves them too. We thought together of what she and her staff could say in response that would make clear that while we’re not surprised-Jesus warned us of the world’s hatred-we’re not filled with hatred in return. Many of them, she said, would express sympathy and concern. She told me of all the regulars who would arrive in the morning. Then the manager of our coffee shop walked up to me. He and his wife were comforting them and using the opportunity to explain our hope in Christ. It was filled with non-Christian neighbors who were shaken up by the event. The community coffee shop run by Hinson Baptist Church in Portland, Oregon / Courtesy of Mark WhitcombĪs I stood on the other side of the tape that night, one of my associate pastors who lives on the block walked out of his backyard. A little more than two weeks ago, one of the centers operated by First Image in a nearby suburb was firebombed and declared a total loss.īy 8:00 p.m., police tape cordoned off the entire building, and security guards remained present throughout the night. But in answer to the prayers of many, there was no fire, no serious injuries, and no further attempts to damage the building. A few window A/C units were damaged, and there’s a lot of glass to replace and graffiti to remove. One reporter covering the event was assaulted by several in the crowd with umbrellas and mace, but thankfully was not seriously hurt. The level of organization and coordination was striking, including sending a “scout” 30 minutes before the rally to photograph the security cameras and note how to avoid being identified. They got in their cars and left, but not before some drove around the block, taunting the police, calling them “pigs,” and telling them to solve “real” crimes. With the rest of the marchers, whose mass largely shielded the vandals from view, they then marched back to the park, shedding their black Antifa-style clothing on the way. Using umbrellas and masks to shield their identities from security cameras, they smashed almost every ground-floor window on the side of the building that hadn’t yet been boarded up and covered the building in vile graffiti aimed specifically at Christians. After circling the block, a group of well-prepared and fully masked individuals broke off. There was a heavy police presence in the neighborhood, as this had been openly organized with calls for violence and “direct action.” The authorities had warned us a couple of hours earlier, so most of our ground floor tenants had already removed sensitive or personal belongings.Īs the crowd approached, the people contracted to board up the ground floor windows understandably and wisely withdrew, the job only half-finished. The crowd marched around the entire city block, chanting the sort of slogans you’ve heard on the news since Roe was overturned. Advertise on TGC The Hinson Baptist Church office building in Portland, Oregon / Courtesy of Mark Whitcomb
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