A church organist who sprayed 'Heil Trump' graffiti on the walls of his own episcopal church in Indiana days after the presidential election last year has been fired.
The clergy of St David's in Brown County met their organist Nathan Stang to discuss 'reconciliation and restitution' and offered to help him restore 'the fractured relationships' caused by his actions.
Stang declined their offer of future employment, although said he was 'incredibly grateful'.
Stang, 26, reported the incident when he arrived at the Bean Blossom church to play the organ the Sunday after the election. But after a six-month police investigation he was confronted with the evidence and confessed to spray-painting the words himself.
In a statement, the Church says Stang's contract has been 'terminated'. The church adds: 'After discussions with church leadership and congregational members, our church community has offered Mr Stang a path to reconciliation and possible future re-employment.
'Following discovery of the graffiti, we proclaimed a message of love and forgiveness. This message is at the core of what it means to be a follower of Jesus, and we did not want that message to be empty talk. The past six months have been transformative for the members of St David's and, we hope, for the community as well.'
The church says they were not the only victims of Stang's actions.
'Supporters of President Trump, those who are Jewish or have ties to the Jewish community, and those in the gay community all were hurt. We hope that in time forgiveness and reconciliation can be reached by all sides. We will continue to offer the love of God to all people regardless of where you come from, what you believe, what color you are or who you love.'
