A fence outside Victoria’s Central Baptist Church has been vandalized with graffiti.
The fence, which was erected to keep drug users and homeless people off the church’s front steps, has been a source of contention.
The combination of cement blocks, iron fencing and spikes keeps people from gathering in an undercover area.
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Ahead of holiday services, vandals spray-painted “Hategate” and “WWJD” — which stands for “What would Jesus do?” — on what Pastor Barton Priebe has described as a “decorative fence.” The graffiti has since been covered up.
Priebe has defended the installation of the fence, saying it was meant to prevent crime, in particular drug dealing.
“We’re trying to reach out to our street community. We care about them and we do a lot of work with them,” Priebe said last week. “But we are also trying to reach out to the rest of our demographic, like children and youth and families and the elderly.”
– With files from Amy Judd
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