At the corner of 18th Street NW and Church Street NW in Dupont, four signs are turning some heads. Each of them have a "faith palm," so to speak, with an image of Jesus doing a face palm. They each have a political message, criticizing the conservative agenda of the President.
"The president said what?" one of the signs asked.
The signs were all erected by Rev. Alex Dyer, of the St. Thomas' Parish Episcopal Church. They are hanging on the construction fence surrounding their property, where the historic church is being rebuilt. All four signs have a progressive message.
"Yes," a second sign reads. "Science is real."
"What is with America and guns?" asks another.
"I never said I hated anyone," said the last one.
Dyer said the signs were put up to send a message.
"We wanted to add a new voice," he said. "One voice that's been perhaps too silent is the progressive Christian voice. So, I think a lot of things going on in government now goes against my core values as a Christian."
The banners started to gain international attention on Tuesday when a Canadian journalist tweeted a photo of one of the signs.
"How churches advertise in Washington, apparently," wrote Daniel Dale, the Washington correspondent for the Toronto Star.
Since this tweet, the social media attention has continued to grow, and as of Thursday morning, a photo of the banner was on the top of the local Reddit.
"Last time I looked, it had 23,000 likes or something and almost 8,000 retweets," Dyer laughed. "I don't know what constitutes going viral these days, but I think we're pretty darn close."
Dyer said he has received some negative letters, as news spreads of the banner across the country. However, he said there's no chance he's taking them down.
"To stay silent in my book is not an option."
