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Pranked Richmond church sign elicits laughs

Message wasn’t planned by the church, but some community members enjoyed it
Church sign
The sign at St. Alban's Anglican Church in Richmond read "be gay and horny" after it was broken into sometime overnight between April 12 and April 13. Photo: Courtesy of Dina Morgan

A church sign in Richmond that read “be gay and horny” last weekend got community members laughing after someone broke in and rearranged the letters.

The sign, at St. Alban Anglican Church near Granville Ave. and No. 3 Road, was broken into sometime on Friday night and the cheeky message was there for all to see on Saturday morning. 

 “Oh my god, it was so funny,” said Dina Morgan, who drove by the sign while dropping her kids off at the SkyTrain station.

“The minute my little one, who is gay, said it, (they) started squealing in the back seat.”

Morgan’s kids made her stop and take a picture on the way home, and the image made rounds on social media over the weekend.

Randy Murray, communications officer with the Diocese of New Westminster, said the sign casing was locked, but someone was able to break in.

The prankster switched the letters around, and took out the extra ones. The missing letters have not been returned.

“You’ve got to admire its pithiness,” Murray said of the message.

St. Alban’s previously had an openly gay female minister, and might begin blessing same-sex couples following a National Church Synod vote this summer. It’s now changed its sign back to display the regular Holy Week message.

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that St. Alban's blesses marriages between same-sex couples. While the Diocese of New Westminster, which encompasses St. Alban's, has authorized some congregations to bless same-sex marriages, St. Alban's is not one of them at this time. 

St. Alban's sign
The St. Alban's sign has changed back to its regular message.