A vicar who discovered her church had been vandalised with a St George’s Cross has pledged to continue removing the flag if troublemakers strike again. Revd Rachel Heskins, 55, claimed recent English flag graffiti had shifted from ‘patriotism to nationalism’ after she woke on Tuesday morning to discover the red cross daubed on her Grade II*-listed church’s wall, along with nearby zebra crossings.
Revd Heskins, who has served at St John the Baptist’s Church in Lincoln for six years, said: “I think we are crossing a line from patriotism to nationalism in some instances. Not every time – I’m waving the flag with everybody the same when it comes to the women’s football in the summer and the Euros.
“I think of myself as really very proud to be English for all sorts of reasons. But I think if I was to ask the people who vandalised the church hall what it was they were most proud about being English, what was it they were most proud about to be English, I would be very interested to hear their response.
“I don’t think deep down there’s a lot of thought going into this. Of course there’s lots of reasons to be proud to be English. Our contribution to literature, art and culture, Shakespeare, Isaac Newton, discoveries of science and medicine, computing, Ada Lovelace, Alan Turing.
“Wonderful things have been done by English people who have contributed to humanity, fantastic things to be enormously proud of. But I suspect that’s not the reason we’ve suddenly had these St George’s Crosses appear on our high streets, roundabouts, and church walls. I think it’s something else.”
Revd Heskins reported the graffiti to the police and spent the morning with her son scrubbing off the spray paint from the church walls and painting over the cross. The reverend has now pledged to keep the wall free of graffiti, stating she’ll ‘paint over it again’ if vandals return.
She continued: “Hang a flag from your own bedroom window or your front garden, or paint the side of your house – that’s fine, I have no problem with that whatsoever, if that’s what you want to do, that’s fine.
“But when you’re doing it on public property and churches, in public spaces, without consultation and without having a conversation – it’s divisive. Some people think it’s great; there are lots of comments on social media saying ‘leave it there, it’s great, we love it’, but then there are others saying the complete opposite.
“So, it’s a divisive act – it’s not something that’s unified us. We’re not all standing united by the flag; it’s divided people rather than what it ought to be doing, which is to unite us.”