Last month, the First Pentecostal Church in Holly Springs, Mississippi sued the city over its stay-at-home orders (which were stricter than those for the state as a whole). The church said police interrupted a Bible study and Easter service and they had a right to meet; the city said the dozens of people inside weren’t following social distancing requirements.
That controversy took a sad, strange turn yesterday when the church was burned down, presumably by an arsonist. Police said there was graffiti on the parking lot reading “Bet you stay home now you hypokrits [sic].”
Jerry Waldrop has pastored the church for 31 years.
“We’ve tacked our brains and we have no idea,” Waldrop said. “No enemies that we know of. We don’t know anyone that we even think could be capable of doing something like this.”
Whatever legitimate complaints people have about his church’s refusal to adhere to COVID restrictions, the vandalism is beyond comprehension. No church deserves that. Assuming this was an outsider who was seeking revenge, it’s intolerable behavior. Thank goodness no one was inside the building when it happened.
It’s also ironic that the vandal’s message was about keeping people safe when the culprit’s actions could’ve hurt them.
The arsonist has yet to be caught. It’s not clear if Waldrop will continue going through with the lawsuit.
(Screenshot via WMC)
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