A pastor in Kansas City, Kan., said he knew his church had been vandalized -- but what he saw led him to break down in tears.
Pastor Bryan Mann of the Bethel Seventh Day Adventist Church got the call from his head deacon on Sunday morning, alerting him to the overnight vandalism. Upon seeing the destruction, Mann said, “I expected it to be bad, but not to this degree.”
Bethel Seventh Day Adventist Church Pastor Bryan Mann. (Fox 4 Kansas City)
Toilets were broken and water was running across the floor, pews were overturned, a keyboard was destroyed, and a glass panel had been broken to enter the church. The alarm system never alerted the police because the door was not opened.
He said about the damage, “this is God’s house and to do the type of things that have been done here, and I’ve seen it before, but to take hours to do this type of damage, police say this didn’t happen in 15 minutes or an hour; it took hours, even with multiple people. Who would have that much anger, and that much disregard?”
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Mann said he wanted those responsible to be caught.
The church’s food pantry, which serves more than 100 families monthly was destroyed as well.
Destruction of the church food pantry. (Fox 4 Kansas City)
“When I walked in I actually just broke down in tears, because just to know the dedication they give, and the people it impacts, and to look at how it was trashed, it just brought tears to my eyes,” Mann says. He has been a pastor at the church for about a year.
Mann says they are assessing the damage and working with insurance, but that the act of vandalism just motivates them to do more good to outweigh the evil.
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“I don’t have anger toward them, you just pray for them,”Mann said. “It’s going to rally the church to be better, and to engage even more.”
The church is collecting donations of food and personal hygiene items.
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