The Hamilton police hate crime unit is investigating after graffiti was spray-painted on the doors of a church.

The number 666 followed by a vulgar statement was spray-painted on the back door of the church. Members of the Hamilton Christian fellowship church chose to react consistently with their beliefs.

“Our peoples immediate response was to pray for the people who did this, to speak peace over the neighbourhood, so our neighbours wouldn’t be in fear and to release forgiveness.” Lisa Cowling.

Pastor Cowling says a lot of time and money went into restoring the antique doors at the church that were spray-painted. She says its going to take a lot of time to clean them up. In the meantime they’ve hung canvas over the doors and are encouraging members of the church and community to write messages of love and forgiveness.

In the absence of security cameras in the area, police say they will be relying on the public’s help in identifying the vandals.