SILVERTON, Ore. -- A church in Silverton is expected to reopen for services Saturday, three weeks after someone broke in and vandalized the building.
According to police, volunteers arrived at the Silverton Community Seventh-Day Adventist church on February 10, to find someone had broken in through a window.
The vandal or vandals left graffiti, and emptied the toxic contents of two fire extinguishers all over the church, doing more than $50,000 in damage.
“I don’t know why anyone would do this,” said Jonathan Russell, the local spokesperson for the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. “People here, this is their family.”
Russell said the church is insured, but insurance couldn’t provide a place where church members could meet while the building was closed.
“They've been meeting at homes and different places,” said Russell. “For them to not be able to gather together has been really painful.”
On Saturday, March 2, the sanctuary will reopen for worshippers while crews continue to repair the rest of the building.
Russell said that on that day, church members would likely not focus on the person responsible for vandalizing their building.
“In our church, we believe in a God that brings people closer together through adversity,” said Russell. “We believe that's exactly what's going to happen here.”
Anyone with information on who vandalized the church was asked to contact Detective Josh Boatner with the Silverton Police Department at (503) 873-5326.