AUGUSTA — "No on 1" backers gathered in a rally Sunday at seven churches around the state, including one in Augusta.
The Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry in Maine held interfaith candlelight vigils at the Universalist Unitarian Community Church on Winthrop Street "to remind people of all faiths to vote no on Question 1."
Question 1 on Tuesday's ballot asks, "Do you want to reject the new law that lets same-sex couples marry and allows individuals and religious groups to refuse to perform these marriages?"
The Rev. Carie Johnsen of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Augusta told about 75 people outside the church that this was "a chance for us to shine the light on love again and our hope for marriage equality."
She stood next to the Rev. Calvin Sanborn, rector at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in Hallowell. "I support marriage equality," he said.
Sanborn said he expected some members of St. Matthew's to participate in the vigil.
"We have people in the parish who are of various minds," he said. "The Episcopal Church is committed to debate and dialogue on every issue."
The vigil drew young and old. Some told of their children's struggles with being gay; one man talked of wanting to wed his same-sex partner of 32 years.
Johnsen left them with a benediction: "Go in peace; go in love. Vote no on 1; telling your neighbors to vote no on 1."
And even as the "No on 1" supporters prepared for their gathering, three blocks away at another church, the "Yes on 1" signs were vanishing overnight.
St. Michael Parish business manager David Alexander, who's based at the Pastoral Center next to St. Mary's Church on Western Avenue, reported Saturday that the "Yes" signs were taken again from the grounds.
Three days earlier, he reported that someone removed all the "Yes on 1" signs on church property and replaced them with "No on 1" signs.
On Wednesday, Alexander called the city to be sure he could remove the unwelcome signs. Then he replaced them with a dozen "Yes on 1" signs.
He said removal of the signs "violates or freedom of expression and our right to exercise our faith." St. Michael Parish is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, a major supporter of the "Stand for Marriage Maine" campaign.
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