Pride flag burnings ignite LGBTQ activism in Sparta, starting with new support group

SPARTA — The vandalism shocked parishioners at Sparta United Methodist Church, a group that prides itself on its sense of community.

Twice in a four-month span last year, Rainbow Pride flags hung outside the church were set ablaze. Older versions had been stolen or ripped from the flagpole before, but this was a new, more aggressive low, church members said.

"The burning, there was just something really startling about that," said Sandy Svenningsen. "It was such a vile act of disrespect to everybody in the church community."

A year after the first flag was burned, local residents are seeking to overcome the hateful acts by creating a new organization to support their LGBTQ neighbors.

The newly formed Sussex County chapter of the national organization known as PFLAG will host its first meeting from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 6, at the church on Sparta Avenue. Future meetings will take place on the first Monday of every month, or the following Monday if the first is an observed holiday.

"Our mission is to build on a foundation of loving families united with LGBTQ people and allies who support one another, and to educate ourselves and our communities to speak up as advocates until all hearts and minds respect, value and affirm LGBTQ people," reads a statement on the chapter website.

Several of the 11 board members who helped create PFLAG Sussex County are part of the LGBTQ community themselves, including one local couple engaged to be married: Jill Kubin and Sue Harris, the chapter's president. Others are area residents who wanted to better support their neighbors in the wake of the flag burnings.

Many PFLAG members attend the Sparta church, but the organization is not affiliated with the church or any other religious denomination.

"Anyone who's seeking to understand how to be a better ally, how to be a better community member, and/or folks that are seeking allies and seeking community members are welcome," said Todd Gillespie, one of the board members.

Harris had proposed starting a local chapter shortly after she began attending the church in August 2021. The idea gained steam after Jan. 2, 2022, when Harris and Kubin, arriving for Sunday morning services, found the Pride flag that faced Route 181 partially burned and melted.

"It immediately made us feel unsafe and unwelcome," Kubin said. "We figured it was probably not a church person (who burned the flag), but still, we felt a little bit targeted, and that was not a good feeling."

The couple brought the flag to the Rev. Steve Bechtold, who announced the incident during the service. The news elicited an "audible gasp" from the congregation, Harris said.

Three months later, on April 20, the flag was vandalized again in a similar fashion. Police reported two "young adult males" entered the church property from the woods and set the new flag on fire.

Many members of the church were outraged by the burnings and turned their anger into a positive show of support. Parishioners and local residents sent monetary donations and extra Pride flags, or simply took the time to express their concern for the LGBTQ community, Kubin said.

Jack Tironi, the church's youth director, used the burnings to teach the children in his youth group the importance of inclusion. The kids were inspired to advocate for LGBTQ residents and find ways to make the community feel welcome, he said.

"I feel that a lot of the youth who I talk to here are very passionate about that," Tironi said. "They're very much on board with all that and very much of the belief that Christian teaching and (the LGBTQ community) can definitely coincide."

For about a decade, the church has been part of the Reconciling Ministries Network, an organization of Methodist churches that promotes acceptance of LGBTQ members. A banner inside the Sparta church affirms the stance, welcoming members "of all sexual orientations & gender identities."

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The overwhelming response to the flag incidents spurred Harris to start a PFLAG chapter. The organization includes 340 chapters throughout the country, and the Sussex County location marks the eighth in New Jersey, according to the group's website.

PFLAG, founded in 1973, works to keep LGBTQ people safe and make them feel empowered and loved. The acronym initially stood for Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays − later expanded to Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays − before members voted to make the acronym the official name in 2014.

While no one has been arrested in connection with either flag-burning incident, church members praised the Sparta Police Department for taking them seriously. The acts could have been dismissed as "a couple of kids fooling around," Svenningsen said, but the church did not view it that way.

"Even if it was, those kids, other kids need to know that this is not a game," Bechtold said. "You're talking about people's lives. You're talking about the essence of who people are. And to treat that that way is just not acceptable − and not just in a Christian context; in a human context for all people."

The identity of the flag-burners, and their motive, may never be known. But if they sought to silence the voices of the LGBTQ community, Kubin is proud to say that their actions have instead done the opposite.

"I would like the people who set these flags on fire to know that they ignited the activists in us," she said. "Now we have this chapter here, all thanks to that."

Kyle Morel is a local reporter covering Morris and Sussex counties.

Email: kmorel@njherald.com; Twitter: @KMorelNJH

This article originally appeared on New Jersey Herald: Sparta LGBTQ group forms after Sussex County Pride flag burnings