Local church vandalized, moves forward with forgiveness

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Is anywhere safe anymore? That is the question being raised after two churches were vandalized over the weekend in Brunswick County.

“Why?,” Providence Missionary Baptist Church Trustee, William Yeoman asked. “Right, I mean what’s up with that? Did God do anything to you? Did we do anything to you?”

Yeoman was doing his daily duties Sunday morning when he noticed something was not right.

“When I stepped into the bathroom lo and behold, glass all over the floor, all over the sink. And the first thing I thought was whoa what happened here? Somebody done shot through the window,” Yeoman said.

That was not the case, the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office says the suspect used a blunt object like a club or hammer to break two stained-glass windows at Providence Missionary Baptist.

“It’s a big deal, right? Somebody vandalized our church. Sure it hurt,” Yeoman said. “But service must go on. We don’t stop because of someone’s hatred or misbehavior or vandalism.”

Just down the street, a window and metal door were damaged at Blackwell Chapel AME Zion Church.

This comes as no surprise to Yeoman as he said this is not the first time he has had to deal with a situation like this.

“Well it’s happening all around the nation. It’s everywhere. Hatred is everywhere. But God is everywhere too,” Yeoman said.

Overall, the vandal caused more than $1,100 in damage. Moving forward Yeoman said the message is forgiveness.

“We ask the lord to help us forgive whoever vandalized our church,” Yeoman said. “We pray for them. And as a matter of fact we invite them and anyone else to come on in and talk with us.”

The investigation is still underway.

Both churches involved are majority African American, but detectives say they do not believe it was a hate crime. Investigators do however believe the two incidents are connected.

Yoeman said the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office will be patrolling the area more often.

If you know anything about this, please contact the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office.