ST. LOUIS – “New Commandment: Thou shalt not use your religion to take away other people’s rights” was one of the many messages that caught viral attention on Reddit and X posted outside a University City church.
Reverend Dr. Katie Nix, pastor of Grace United Methodist Church, said the church aims to represent the diversity of its surrounding neighbors through the marquee sign that has brought them both positive and negative attention.
“We realize there are some really loud voices in the news right now that do not represent what we think the church should be,” Pastor Katie said.
As a church in the heart of University City and just down the street from Washington University, Pastor Katie explains the church strives to represent the high refugee and LGBTQ community in the area.
“Jesus had two dads, and he turned out just fine,” was another message posted outside the 100-year-old church.
While some of the church’s marquee sign messages are politically inspired, the heart behind using the marquee sign started when there was a growing desire for connection during the pandemic.
“Every church sign does not have to say ‘you’re a terrible person, and you need Jesus,'” Pastor Katie said. “We had one that said, ‘Your hair looks so much better than when it was in middle school.”
Pastor Katie said she also saw a need for change in how a church would typically use a marquee sign for scripture or announcements.
“I saw so many cliches on church signs, and I was like, ‘I’m gonna go throw up,'” Pastor Katie said.
Pastor Katie shared her inspiration for the marquee sign’s messages comes from a Pinterest board and collaborating with an office manager, switching out the humorous or even what might be viewed as controversial messages every two weeks.
Their recent signage said, “Are they here legally? Is a modern version of ‘who is my neighbor?” referencing the Good Samaritan story noted in the Bible about loving our enemies and connecting it to the topic of illegal immigration.
Another marquee message: “When Jesus said, let the children come to me, he wasn’t expecting them to wear Kevlar,” posted in reference to children wearing bullet-proof vests while attending school.
Pastor Katie said they have had to address some negative comments towards their more politically-derived messages.
“A lot of times people are not interested in a conversation. They’re just ready to tell me how I’m wrong,” Pastor Katie said. “If you want to have an actual conversation, in a heartbeat, I will set up a meeting with you, you want to blast me because it makes you feel better, that’s not the way we’re gonna do this.”
Pastor Katie, despite the negative comments, says that many of their marquee sign messages have brought in new church congregants out of intrigue for the church and have introduced a new idea for what a church can represent.
During the summer, the church posted a message regarding the surplus of screaming cicada’s in the St. Louis region.
“Jesus’s main message is a story of joy, right? Like, can we just laugh?” Pastor Katie said.