Doug MacDonald’s routine had always been a calm, tranquil experience.
He’d rise early on Sunday mornings, a private time all his own, a time sweet like a Donald Hall poem.
He’d make the short drive to his local place of worship, the First Congregational Church of Wilmot, and he’d unlock the two wooden front doors to prepare for the service at 9:30 a.m.
On windy mornings, he’d unwrap the rainbow flag – a sign of the inclusive spirit that is the foundation of the United Church of Christ. In winter, he’d turn the heat on, pushing the temperature from 50 to 70 degrees. He’d wind the old clock, too.
Two Sundays ago, though, MacDonald’s routine, always safe and comfortable, stopped at those two wooden front doors. Someone had written something on them. Two images had been drawn, as well.
The message, in black marker, read, “No Remorse.” On the opposite panel it continued: “For The Dead Kike On A Pike.” A circled Star of David with a slash through it was drawn below the words. A peace symbol without the traditional circle around it was included.
That’s why the Rev. Sara Marean will host a special gathering on Sunday at 2 p.m. Right there on those same steps, in front of those same doors, in the town that Hall, the late, great poet, once called home.
She wants to reach out to the Jewish community, small as it may be in Wilmot. She wants to spread her own message and that of her church, that Jews and gays and everyone else for that matter are welcome in her place of worship. She wants to bury those words and symbols even deeper below the paint.
“The people want a sense of love to pervade,” the reverend said by phone, “but not just in the church, but in the entire community, and to see that torn down was hard.”
Marean spoke from the heart and from the woods, during a family camping trip. She’s eager to join hands and sing songs on Sunday.
“I heard a lot of voices from the broader community that we needed to do more and have the opportunity to counter it with love and unity and solidarity,” Marean said.
The irony that this church is open to all was not lost on the town, of course. Freedom of speech and ideas make us great, even when those words and ideas contain disturbing messages. In this case, though, someone chose to leave a lasting effect.
“We’re full of open-hearted people and open-minded people,” Marean told me. “We’ve started to be inclusive in so many ways, inclusive language, so it was devastating for people and a sense of shock and disbelief and horror that this could happen in a small town.”
Residents saw the graffiti as a slam at both Jews and Christians. The figure on the pike was Jesus, the slash across the Star of David a message to cast Judaism into darkness, the circle-less peace sign a Germanic symbol meaning death.
That’s what MacDonald found on his weekly journey last month. He taught in the Kearsarge School District for 45 years. He used to be a church trustee. When he left that post, he kept his Sunday role.
He said the rainbow flag has been stolen at least four times in recent years, adding that he has no idea if the thefts had to do with the flag’s symbolic support of the gay and LGBT communities.
But this time, the motivation was crystal-clear.
“In today’s world, too many people have been given license to say what they think,” MacDonald said by phone this week.
MacDonald tried to wipe the door with a cleaning fluid, but permanent marker, like the message left, is a stubborn foe. Instead, he spray-painted both doors before the congregation assembled, then gave it another coat of paint last week.
“I was taken back a bit,” MacDonald said.
Les Norman is a retired UCC minister. He lives in New London but joined the Wilmot church because his hometown is one of the few in the state without a congregational church.
He’s been living in this country for nearly 50 years, but his British accent and no-nonsense wit shone through.
“Horrified,” Norman said. “I immediately wondered what sort of person could have done this, what was in their mind, if they had a mind. It didn’t seem to be something that would gather popular support.”
Norman attended the meeting last Sunday, held to help residents come to grips with what had happened, vent their emotions, express their solidarity. That’s when this Sunday’s event was planned.
Art Rosen, who is Jewish, was there, invited by Marean. He wrote in an email that he and his wife, Maureen, were “honored to be at the church when this response was proposed.”
“The words are not original,” Rosen wrote, referring to the vandal’s message. “They can be found floating around on internet hate blogs. What was original was this occurring in this area. In the 20-plus years we’ve been here, this is the first time we’ve heard of an event of this kind.”
In another email, Wilmot resident Jonathan Baird, who’s also Jewish, wrote, “I admit I am shocked as I have lived in Wilmot 29 years and I never saw anything like this.”
Sunday’s gathering on the church’s front steps will stitch wounds, cleanse them, fight infection. Marean hopes it will be well-attended.
“It’s a simple idea,” Marean said. “I don’t think there is anything complicated. We’ll sing some songs and hear some people speak, but the idea is just to be together and be part of this force of love over hate.”
(Ray Duckler can be reached at 369-3304, rduckler@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @rayduckler.)