Originally published 2020-03-03.
Wantagh Memorial Congregational Church, on Long Island in New York, has become known far beyond its neighbourhood for one thing: the sign on its front lawn. Instead of service times alone, the letterboard carries short messages that are sometimes silly, sometimes sharp and often both at once. Photos of them have been shared widely on social media, because they manage to make a point in a dozen words that a passer-by can read at a stop light.
The church belongs to the United Church of Christ (UCC), a mainline Protestant denomination formed in 1957 and known for progressive positions, including early support for same-sex marriage. If you look closely, you can see the UCC's red comma logo in the top corner of each sign. It comes from the denomination's "Stillspeaking" campaign, built on a line often attributed to the comedian Gracie Allen: "Never place a period where God has placed a comma." Several signs also name the pastor, the Rev. Ron Garner, an ordained UCC minister active in Long Island church and social-justice groups.
Below are 19 of the church's signs, grouped by theme, with a little context for each. You can follow the congregation at wmcc1845.com, on Facebook and on Instagram.
Kindness over judgment
Many of the best-known signs turn the usual expectations of a church sign upside down, aiming criticism at religious people who use faith to exclude others.
1. "God prefers kind atheists over hateful Christians." Posted under a notice for the church's weekly meditation group, this is probably the sign most often shared online. Its point is that how people treat each other matters more than the label they wear. Not every Christian would agree with the theology, which is exactly why it gets people talking.
2. "A gay Christian is not an oxymoron. A hateful Christian most certainly is." The sign plays on the idea of an oxymoron, two words that seem to contradict each other. It reflects the UCC's welcoming stance towards LGBTQ members, which many other churches do not share.
3. "Bigotry wrapped in a prayer is still bigotry." Short and blunt, this message argues that religious language does not change the nature of prejudice. It appears beneath the pastor's name, making clear the church stands behind it.
4. "Live so fully that Westboro Baptist Church will picket your funeral." Westboro Baptist Church, a small group based in Topeka, Kansas, became notorious for picketing funerals, including those of US service members, with hostile anti-gay signs. In 2011 the US Supreme Court ruled 8 to 1 that its pickets were protected speech. The Wantagh sign flips the insult into a badge of honour.
5. "Thanks Judge Walker. Marriage equality is a civil right." This older-style sign refers to Judge Vaughn Walker, who on August 4, 2010 ruled that California's Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. His ruling ultimately stood after the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal on standing grounds in 2013.
6. "Jesus had two dads and he turned out just fine." The joke points to Joseph, Jesus's earthly father, and God, his heavenly one. It is a light-hearted reply to the argument that children need a mother and a father to thrive.
7. "It's OK to be Takei!" A pun on "it's OK to be gay" using the name of actor George Takei, of Star Trek fame, who came out publicly in 2005 and has campaigned for LGBTQ rights ever since. Fittingly, the same sign advertises Friday line dancing at 6:30 pm.
Faith, poverty and refugees
Another group of signs pairs a social issue with a Bible reference, putting scripture to work on the news of the day.
8. "How do we worship a homeless man on Sunday and ignore one on Monday?" Jesus is described in the Gospels as having no fixed home during his ministry. The sign asks churchgoers to connect Sunday worship with how they treat homeless people the rest of the week.
9. "The Holy Family were refugees. Matthew 2:13-15." The verses cited tell how Joseph, Mary and the infant Jesus fled to Egypt to escape King Herod. The reference is accurate, and it reframes a familiar nativity story as a story of displacement.
10. "Jesus practiced universal healthcare. Matthew 4:23-25." Those verses describe Jesus travelling through Galilee healing every kind of disease among the people. The sign uses them to comment on the long American debate over access to medical care.
11. "Love your neighbor. Protect Medicaid." Medicaid is the US public health insurance programme for people on low incomes. The sign links the commandment to love one's neighbour with a specific policy, likely during one of the national debates over cuts to the programme.
12. "Poverty is a sin. Being poor isn't." A neat reversal: the sign suggests that the moral failure lies in a society that allows poverty, not in the people who live in it.
13. "Jesus was a low-wage worker." The Gospel of Mark calls Jesus a carpenter, a manual trade. The sign brings that detail into conversations about wages and working people.
14. "War is costly. Peace is priceless." This one echoes the language of advertising slogans to make an anti-war point. Its simplicity is what makes it effective from a moving car.
Puns and pop culture
Not every sign is political. Some are simply there to make people smile on the way to work.
15. "A long time ago in a Galilee far far away." Swap "galaxy" for Galilee, the region where Jesus lived and taught, and the opening line of every Star Wars film becomes a Bible story. It is the kind of pun that rewards a second look.
16. "Tweet unto others as you want others to tweet you." The Golden Rule, reworked for the social media age. Posted during summer worship season, it is a gentle reminder that online manners are still manners.
17. "May all your troubles last as long as your New Year's resolutions." A New Year blessing with a wink, it works because nearly everyone knows how quickly January promises fade.
18. "So getting up Sunday morning is hard? Try rising from the dead." Posted alongside a Holy Thursday service time, this playful jab at people who prefer a lie-in points to the Easter story of the resurrection.
19. "Brand new sign. Same old message. God loves you." Put up when the church replaced its letterboard, this sign sums up what the rest of the collection is trying to say, whatever the topic.
Why church signs get people talking
A roadside sign has only a few seconds to work. The Wantagh messages succeed because they follow a simple formula: a familiar phrase, a twist and a clear point of view. Some borrow from pop culture, some from advertising and some straight from scripture, but all are short enough to read from a car.
They are also openly opinionated, and that is part of their reach. People who agree share them with enthusiasm; people who disagree argue about them. Either way, a small congregation's lawn becomes a conversation that travels far beyond Long Island.
A small church with a wide audience
Church attendance in the United States has fallen over recent decades, and many congregations are searching for ways to reach people who would never walk through their doors. Wantagh's sign shows one approach: meet passers-by where they are, with humour and honesty, and let the message do the inviting.
Whether you find the signs funny, moving or provocative, they are a reminder that a few well-chosen words can still make people stop and think.
Sources: Photos: Wantagh Memorial Congregational Church (wmcc1845.com, Facebook, Instagram); Wikipedia: United Church of Christ; Wikipedia: Westboro Baptist Church; Wikipedia: Perry v. Schwarzenegger; Rural & Migrant Ministry: The Rev. Ron Garner.
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