DUMFRIES, Va. — Support continues to flow for a church in Prince William County, Virginia, where messages of hate were found last weekend. U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, one of the supporters, had tough words for those who commit or encourage others to commit hate-based acts.
“Whether it’s people who are expressing hate, or whether it is folks who are emboldening those or turning a blind eye to hate, there’s no such thing as an innocent bystander to hatred,” Kaine said.
Rev. Cozy Bailey, president of the Prince William County NAACP, also showed his support, saying, “Feel the love, feel the embracing that you’re getting; it’s not going to stop, it’s going to continue.”
Notes touting white supremacy and containing racial slurs were found posted on the Greater Praise Temple Ministries church in Dumfries. Pastor Etta Thompson found the letters Sunday morning when she arrived at the church ahead of services.
“I was really shocked. My hands started shaking; I was like, here? I can’t believe this,” she said.
On Thursday, Kaine told churchgoers that the community stands with them and that Virginia’s progress to overcome hate won’t be turned around.
“If there’s any place that knows, through the pain of history and scar tissue, what violence, hatred and bigotry can do, Virginia knows it,” Kaine said.
Thompson and her co-pastor and husband William Thompson said the outpouring of love from the community has meant a lot to them and that love will always conquer hate.
“Where there is unity, there is strength,” William Thompson said.
The Thompsons said they are ready to forgive those responsible for posting the hate-filled notes.
“Because we all have done something in our lives that we needed somebody or God to forgive us for,” William Thompson added.
Their son, Eric Thompson, who serves as the church’s minister of music, said the person or persons behind the act are also welcome to join them during a service and to get to know the church’s members.
“We welcome you with open arms, if you can just turn from your wicked ways,” he said. “It’s easier to love than to hate.”
Dumfries police and the Prince William County Police Department are investigating, but so far, they don’t have a suspect description.
