The operators of a more than 200-year-old church found it vandalized on Wednesday.
The church’s front door was tagged with graffiti and the word “hate” was spelled out on the sidewalk of the Cornish United Church of Christ.
“We were very shocked and there’s just no reason for this,” said Linda Griffin, a parishioner of the church for many years. “This is where people have their funerals, and their family weddings, and their get-togethers. This is just an important part of the community.”
The building was first built in 1805 and has always been a staple in this western Maine community.
Sunday was their first service since the vandalism, and as the community gathered inside the church, there was no surprise to how parishioners responded.
“The response of the congregation was to pray for forgiveness for the person who did this and understanding that they might grow from the experience and learn that love will conquer hate,” said Lee Goldsberry with the church.
Those around the community have reached out to the church over the weekend offering a helping hand.
“We were waiting for the sheriff to come, and as we were sitting in the car, so many of them said, ‘what can I do?” Jan Goldsberry said. “And I think there were at least three people who offered to paint the door and then we started getting other notices of somebody with a steamer who thought they could take care of the sidewalk.”
The York County Sheriff’s Office was not available for comment about its investigation into the church vandalism.
“People here responded as we would expect them to respond. They were confused about motivation. They didn’t like that it had been done, but they’re concerned about the mental health of the person that did it,” Lee Goldsberry said.
