Sometime between 1:00 AM and 8:00 AM on Sunday, December 8, 2019, vandals devastated Needham Cumberland Presbyterian Church at Eastview in Hardin County, Kentucky. Smith Chapel United Methodist Church, which shares a parking lot with Needham CP was also vandalized.
Members arriving to open the church buildings for Sunday worship discovered the damage. “They just came in and destroyed anything they could get their hands on,” Connie Toczko-Adkins, the daughter of the pastor at Needham Cumberland Presbyterian Church, said. “That’s kind of what it looked like.”
They found broken glass from the paintings hanging on the wall. Hymnals were scattered across the floor. In the bathrooms, sinks were ripped out of the wall.
“Items can be replaced and items can be fixed, but our church bible was 45 to 50 years old and they took that,” Toczko-Adkins said.
In the church office, papers covered the floor. Many of their church records, which date back to the 1800s, were in the office. “[They] dumped them on the floor and I guess when they came across these old records they just tore the pages out and I have no idea where the rest of them are,” Toczko-Adkins said.
“That is still my biggest question is ‘Why?’ Why would you just be destructive?” Toczko-Adkins said.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Kentucky State Police at 270-766-5078.
WAVE3 News video: https://www.wave3.com/2019/12/12/two-hardin-county-churches-cleaning-up-after-weekend-vandalism/
Courier Journal: https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/religion/2019/12/11/two-hardin-county-kentucky-churches-vandalized-sunday/4396476002/
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