A rainbow door outside Fresno’s Big Red Church has been knocked down, smashed and vandalized for the second time this summer. The display, painted with the message “God’s Doors Are Open To All,” was damaged early Sunday morning in the city’s Tower District.
Rev. Simon Biasell, the church’s pastor, told YourCentralValley that he received a call from a staff member at 6:06 a.m. alerting him that the outdoor installation had been knocked over and vandalized.
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The timing meant members arriving for Sunday worship were greeted by the damage. But while the congregation was inside, neighbors stepped up and restored the display, putting the colorful doors back in place before services ended.
“By the time everybody exited church, our neighbors had reinstalled the doors and put it back up, which is one of the wonderful things about this neighborhood,” Biasell said.
The Neighbors Said: Absolutely Not
While the congregation was inside worshipping, neighbors got to work. They restored the colorful doors and put the installation back in place before services ended. Because sometimes the most powerful response to hate is simply refusing to leave the mess sitting there.
The rainbow door, in other words, had a rather dramatic Sunday morning and still managed to show up for the afternoon.
The Rainbow Doors Have Been Targeted Before
The latest vandalism wasn’t an isolated incident. Biasell said the display was also vandalized earlier this summer.
The Big Red Church has stood in Fresno’s Tower District for 76 years and has identified itself as an open and affirming congregation for more than 30 years. Its message is refreshingly straightforward: God’s love is for everyone.
The church says that includes people regardless of religious background, sexual orientation, family makeup, race, age, gender or physical and mental ability. And unfortunately, that inclusive message has attracted hostility over the years. Biasell said church members have received homophobic and negative messages through voicemail and social media.
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“Our church members unfortunately have gotten used to that kind of hate language, that treatment,” he told the publication. “So while this wasn’t anything new, it’s still painful to experience that kind of treatment.”
That last part matters. Getting used to discrimination doesn’t magically make discrimination less painful.
A Rainbow Door, and a Pretty Clear Message
The rainbow doors were originally created as a Pride Month project, with children, teens and adults helping paint the display. The church shared photos of the project on Facebook in January 2023, celebrating the people who helped bring it to life.
So this isn’t just a colorful decoration slapped onto a church entrance. It represents a congregation making its position unmistakably clear: LGBTQ+ people are welcome here. And after the vandalism, the church said it had no intention of changing that position.
In a statement, the congregation described the latest incident as disheartening while reaffirming its commitment to inclusion. It also said it stands with people experiencing discrimination, isolation and alienation.
Which makes the smashed rainbow doors feel less like the end of the story and more like an awkward attempt to interrupt a message that is still very much standing.
This Church Does More Than Sunday Services
The Big Red Church is affiliated with the United Church of Christ, formed through a 1957 merger. Its work in Fresno also goes beyond the Sunday pews. The congregation hosts addiction-support groups, provides affordable childcare through the Head Start program and works with local organizations on efforts to improve the community.
So when neighbors put those rainbow doors back up, they weren’t simply repairing a decoration. They were helping restore a welcome sign.
And perhaps that is the most fitting ending to this particular act of vandalism: someone tried to knock down a message of inclusion, and the community quietly put it right back up.