Sunday as its congregation prepared to celebrate the church’s 67th anniversary, leaders at the Central District’s Curry Temple CME arrived to find a terrible mess inside the 23rd Ave house of worship and hateful messages spray painted across the walls.
“Our church has been vandalized & items were stolen,” a message posted to the church’s Facebook page reads. “We had worship service we also had our 67th anniversary celebration at 3 o’clock the Devil is a Lie we should not be defeated and no weapon formed against us will ever prosper.”
Police are investigating the burglary and vandalism as malicious harassment, the state’s hate crime statute. The damage and messages are similar to the destruction that happened last month at the Africatown Center. In that investigation, police said a volunteer had been arrested in connection with the case.
At Curry Temple, the church is vowing to overcome the damage. A donation page has been set up and parishioners and the community are planning to gather Saturday at 10 AM for a prayer vigil and “call to action.”
“We are calling for Faith based leaders and Community leaders & Members to come together, stand with Curry Temple in Solidarity in [the] the Central District,” the announcement reads. “We are like a tree planted by water we shall not be moved.”
This is so horrible and mean, I really hope they are caught.
That kinda sh*t makes the world a sad place. Ignore that raging jackass and get on with your work.
This looks like the same rhetoric and even similar handwriting to the vandalism & theft at Africstown Educational Center in March. Assuming SPD has noticed this as well? That case was solved.