Church and graveyard defaced with blasphemous graffiti
On Good Friday, 18 April, St James' Church in Leyland, Lancashire, was vandalised with lewd images and anti-Christian messages. The graffiti included sexually graphic content, explicit blasphemy, and defaced both the church building and at least 40 gravestones in the churchyard with offensive statements such as "God is a lie".
Lancashire Police are treating the incident as a hate crime due to the targeted and offensive nature of the graffiti. Detective Sergeant Lee Jamieson, of South CID, described the vandalism as a 'disgusting act' and stressed the seriousness with which police are treating the investigation.
This act of vandalism comes just days before Easter Sunday services and has deeply affected the church community. Pastor Marc Wolverson expressed his dismay at the incident and highlighted the distress caused to the congregation and wider community, describing it as the most distressing experience of his long tenure.
The vicar also mentioned previous minor incidents of vandalism at St James's, such as bonfires or littering by intoxicated people, but said that nothing had previously reached the level of this incident.
Source: Christian post, BBC, Telegraph
Picture: A church near you- website of the parish