Woman steals Pride flag from Michigan church. Now it’s returned, with an apology

A Pride flag stolen from a church and ultimately returned sparked waves of support from a Michigan community.

Footage shared on Facebook from St. John’s Episcopal Church in Grand Haven shows a woman remove the flag from outside the church around 1 a.m. Aug. 9. She was joined by another woman, who appeared to record the incident on a phone.

As the church attempted to identity the women, many people in the Grand Haven community offered to replace the stolen flag.

They didn’t have to. In an Aug. 12 video, Rev. Jared Cramer said the flag was returned by the father of the woman who took it. With it, there was a note with an apology and a “generation” donation to the church.

The woman’s boyfriend had called Cramer and said she was drunk when she took the flag after leaving a bar, according to WZZM.

“Even if this was a prank or joke, stuff like that contributes to a culture where LGBTQ people aren’t safe,” Cramer told WOOD. “Where that’s why they need the flag to know whether or not this is a safe place for them, because there are so many places particularly here in West Michigan that are unsafe for queer people.”

Cramer is offering forgiveness to the woman, he said in his video, and will not be filing charges. He called upon people offering to replace the flag to support their local LGBTQIA+ group.

“I would encourage all of us, as best as we can, to try and be curious about those who with we disagree, to find ways to build relationships because no one is probably the villain we make them out to be,” the pastor said.

Grand Haven is about a 35-mile drive northwest from Grand Rapids.