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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Defaced sign unites church


The Rev. Jerry McConnell shows the sign at First Church of the Nazarene that was vandalized over the weekend. The church paid $400 for the sign. 
 (Holly Pickett / The Spokesman-Review)
Virginia De Leon Staff writer

The church offered an invitation: a free showing of “The Passion of the Christ,” announced on a large 4-by-12-foot sign with a photo of Jesus’ bloody head from the Mel Gibson movie.

But someone obviously didn’t want to go. The sign in front of First Church of the Nazarene was vandalized last week. Someone scrawled over the yellow lettering so that instead of “Passion of the Christ,” it contained a profanity about Jesus.

“There’s a lot of hatred involved in something like that,” said Michele Moran, a longtime member of the north Spokane church. “We’ve never had that kind of problem in our church before. We don’t take political stands. We just stand up for our faith.”

The congregation paid $400 for the sign to be professionally made. Their only wish was to let people know about next week’s movie, being shown as part of the church’s Easter celebration.

The vandalism was especially troublesome to members because it happened shortly after an obscene voice mail was left for the Rev. Jerry McConnell, senior pastor of First Church of the Nazarene. About two days after the defacement, someone also spat on and tried to break the windows of McConnell’s office.

But instead of demanding vengeance, this congregation of 600 people is praying for the culprit, asking God to transform that person’s life.

“Rather than a spirit of payback or revenge, folks have been praying for whoever did this, praying that the spirit of Christ will come to them and soften their heart,” said McConnell. “Whoever did this rallied our people and our neighborhood. It’s been a unifying force for our church.”

“The Passion,” a religious blockbuster that portrays the final hours of Jesus Christ, grossed $370 million last year at the box office. The film proved to be a watershed moment for thousands of area Christians and an opportunity for evangelism.

While they were sad to see their sign defaced, some in the congregation weren’t completely surprised.

“Christians come under attack when you try to get the word out about Christ,” said Shelly Hansen, the children’s pastor at First Church of the Nazarene. “When you try to do good, Satan doesn’t want that to happen.”

In light of the recent church violence in Wisconsin that resulted in the death of several church members, some people at the north Spokane church felt threatened by the incidents.

Just before the sign went up last Tuesday, McConnell received “a vile, ugly” voice mail filled with expletives. Although the caller – who had a deep, gravelly male voice – didn’t refer to him by name, McConnell said he couldn’t help but feel “violated” when he heard that message.

Then on Wednesday evening, three teenage boys with BB guns tried to disrupt the church’s Easter egg hunt by taking the children’s eggs. Hansen, who organized the event, tried to talk to the boys and even invited them to church.

“We want them to walk through our doors and introduce them to Christ,” said Hansen, who asked the children to pray for the boys who threatened them.

The defacement of the sign must have occurred late Friday or early Saturday, said McConnell. On Sunday afternoon, he discovered the damage on his office windows. McConnell isn’t sure if all these incidents were related, but he said he reported it all to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.

Since the final incident, many have called the church office this week to express their condolences.

“It has been a blessing for me to watch the church unified in prayer – praying not just for God’s protection but also praying for whoever did this,” McConnell said.

“The Bible says to love your enemies, to pray for those who persecute you and to bless those who come against you.”