Hillyard church vandalized – again

A Hillyard church was the target of an anti-religion hate crime, police say.

The Crestline Church of the Nazarene was ransacked and burglarized by thieves who left graffiti sometime between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, said Spokane police Cpl. Tom Lee. The words scrawled inside the church are being kept secret for investigative purposes.

The break-in was the second in a week at the church, Lee said.

Police think the burglars are juveniles based on evidence and the amount of destruction.

On Thursday, a computer, musical instruments and other electronic gear were missing, police said. A small fire was ignited on a table set up for a Thanksgiving celebration, then extinguished with a Fanta orange soda. Phone lines were ripped out. Church programs, coffee grounds and creamer were strewn about an office.

“The sanctuary was pretty well spared,” Lee said. But other parts of the church were not.

The first burglary was discovered Saturday. The Rev. Dave Cox said about $200 worth of equipment was stolen in the first break-in. Cox called police shortly after 6 a.m. Thursday when he discovered the church had been broken into a second time and ransacked.

The pastor was opening the church for a prayer session Thursday. When he stepped inside, he heard the shards of shattered fluorescent lights crunching under his feet.

“The first feeling was shock,” said Cox.

Cox, who has been a pastor at the church for about a year, said the recent break-ins are the first he’s experienced.

In 2004, the church was burglarized, and thieves stole similar items – an amplifier, a keyboard and a cassette player – but there was no indication of a hate crime, according to news articles.

Lee said along with the graffiti Thursday, other evidence indicated the break-in was a hate crime.

Cox said the graffiti indicated a certain group of people.

“There’s nothing at all to indicate it was the Nazarene religion or anyone in that church,” Lee said.

Cox said Thursday that he’d already forgiven the burglars.

“Those people need to have accountability that will change their lives,” Cox said. “To be selfish would be a bigger sin than what was done here.”

The Sunday morning services will go on as planned, Cox said. The sermon will be “Give thanks, some more.”

The Thanksgiving celebration planned for after the sermon will also go on.

Members of the 40- to 50-member congregation helped clean up Thursday to prepare for Sunday’s events.

“We have a lot more to be thankful for than property,” said the pastor, choking back tears. “We have the opportunity to be thankful we are not residents of that evil.”