A church’s banner showing support for two Methodist pastors who were defrocked after officiating same-sex weddings was burned last week.

Rev. Dr. Charles Parker from the Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church said in a blog post an earlier “Stop The Trials” banner with a rainbow background at the St. Luke’s campus, located in Glover Park, had been cut down.

I have no interest in trying to force fellow pastors to officiate at same-gender weddings, if that violates their pastoral integrity. But, likewise, I need to officiate at such weddings to act with my own pastoral integrity. To ask me to abide by the Discipline’s prohibition on officiating at a same-gender wedding, is to ask me to violate the Discipline’s call to “support the rights and liberties for all persons, regardless of sexual orientation,” and “relate [my]self in ministry with all persons without regard to race, color, ethnicity, national origin, social status, gender, sexual orientation, age, economic condition, or disability.”

According to NBC4, the Metropolitan Police Department is investigating the incident as a hate crime. “We will keep putting banners up until we no longer need to,” Rev. Dottie Yunger told NBC.