A welcome banner featuring the Pride flag has been stolen from St Mark's Church in the Sheffield suburb of Broomhill, an incident the vicar has reported as a hate crime.
The Reverend Helena Roulston said the banner, which was erected to welcome new students to the city, was cut down and taken in broad daylight on 21 September. She described the news as "quite a shock".
Members of the church's congregation told Roulston that Pride flags displayed outside the church had been removed before.
Church's response
St Mark's has since put up a new, identical banner to reaffirm its commitment to welcoming everyone, including the LGBTQ+ community.
"The message is obviously exactly the same - that you are more than welcome at St Mark's," Roulston said.
Roulston, who joined the church in April, said: "Over the last few months since I have been there it's been a really wonderful community, they are really welcoming and fulling embracing of difference, of all backgrounds, and it feels like a really homely space."
The vicar's perspective
Speaking about the theft, Roulston said: "It's just so sad in this day and age. We all disagree with things and we have different opinions and that's absolutely fine - and I think that builds a healthy community and a healthy society - [but] to take this step of actually cutting down the banner sends a different message."
South Yorkshire Police has been contacted for comment.
