Two projects led by evangelical Christians have suffered unrelated but similar attacks this week.

A coffee shop operated by a free church in Leipzig (Germany) was attacked with graffiti on the night of 23 to 24 October.

According to German magazine Pro, the vandals sprayed slogans like “Don’t stay, be gay” and “No money for fundamentalists”. A window was smashed as well.

The café, named ‘Stay’ (in English) was opened only one month ago by Zeal Church, a charismatic evangelical church in the city.

The authors boasted about their action on a well-known far-left online platform, posting photos and writing: “With relish, we smashed the windows and left our opinions at the STAY Café, with both hatred and satisfaction”.

Pastor René Wagner said he was aware of criticism from some who disagreed with the church’s Christian stance on marriage and sexuality. But he was also “shocked by the hatred of those who demand tolerance”.

On the Instagram profile of the cafeteria, the owners wrote: “Our lifeblood is in creating a place in Reudnitz [neighbourhood] where people can come together, feel safe and experience community. Everyone is welcome here, and we are always open to constructive criticism and personal conversations. Our doors are always open for respectful exchange”.

The incident has been reported to the police.

Racism against NGO serving vulnerable families

Also this week, another project with a Christian ethos was targeted in Ferrol (Spain).

Graffiti with racist messages appeared on the walls of the NGO Dignidad (Dignity), a social justice initiative founded by the evangelical church Buenas Noticias (Good News), although now an independent association.

“Stop foreign invasion” and “Accomplices of the Moroccan invasion” could be read outside the NGO’s premises. The messages are signed by a far-right movement.

Other paintings with the number “1610”, alluding to the date on which the Moors were expelled from the peninsula, were also sprayed days earlier.

Women from North Africa are among those who attend the free Spanish classes offered by the organisation, María Navaza of Dignidad told Spanish website Protestante Digital. “In the afternoons, we also run an educational support programme and many of the children who come here are children of migrants”.

The association serves around 200 vulnerable families in the city and has a shelter for homeless people in another city. “We are used to some neighbours making xenophobic remarks, such as that foreigners receive more benefits than Spaniards”, she added. But “whatever we do, we do it out of love for our neighbour and in obedience to God and the Word”, Navaza said.

The racist messages on their walls is “as an attack on one of our most important values, which is to dignify all people, regardless of race, background or social class”, she concluded.

The Mayor of the Ferrol asked the graffiti to be removed “as soon as possible”, and condemned xenophobia, according to local newspaper La Voz de Galicia. Political parties in the opposition also expressed their support for Dignidad.