Gay Vandals Attack Conservative Oregon Church

A gay rights group took responsibility for a recent attack on a church in Portland known for its homophobic tenets.

At least six vandals dressed in black were spotted breaking century-old stained-glass windows at the Mars Hill Church in southeast Portland. The Seattle-based church is known as unwavering in its beliefs that gay people are sinners.

"It saddens us that some folks feel they had to vandalize our space to be heard. But we wish them no ill will," lead pastor Tim Smith told the local media.

Some LGBT people helped with the clean-up and tried to use the attack as an opportunity to start a dialogue with the church.

"The fact that we are actually meeting with one another and know one another, I feel, sincerely, that we are beginning to understand one another in a completely different way," Rev. Nathan Meckley, of the gay-friendly Metropolitan Community Church, said. Read more here.