BYRON — A ripped-up Bible, graffiti and other vandalism to a small country church near the village of Byron last week was the work of children, Parke County authorities said.
A 9-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl, who are related to each other and live in the area, used a hidden key to gain access inside Byron Christian Church, where they sprayed fire extinguishers and trashed most of the rooms, said Sheriff Justin Cole.
It wasn’t clear when the incident occurred, but the church’s custodian found the mess on Friday. Photos posted on Facebook by a relative of a congregation member showed some of the damage.
In the sanctuary, nearly all of the pages from a large Bible had been torn out and strewn across the pulpit. Feces and urine were spread in the worship space, and the piano keys were smeared with mustard. Some of the liquids had dried up by time the damage was discovered.
What appeared to be craft supplies were scattered throughout the building. In the kitchen, a drawer had been pulled open and the contents tossed onto the floor. Food and drink items were taken, Cole said.
The monetary amount of the damage was not immediately available, but the congregation believes it will cost several thousand dollars to clean up. The church was waiting on estimates from the insurance company.
“A lot of people have asked to help us with fixing it up,” said longtime pastor Mike Sabens, who serves the church with his wife, Jane. Volunteers from professional cleaning crews reached out to offer their services.
Investigators tracked down the children after some of the stolen items were given to another person, Cole said. Church members told police they had previously seen the children around the building.
The children were arrested on burglary and theft charges and later released to their guardians. They didn’t give police a reason for the vandalism, Cole said.
The case was forwarded to the Parke County Juvenile Justice System. Cole said no other charges are expected in the case.
For the 116-year-old congregation of about 40 total members near Lake Waveland, the incident nearly forced the cancellation of Sunday’s worship service. Around four other churches in the area invited the members to worship together.
Sabens decided instead to move the service outside, delivering his sermon to about a dozen people seated in lawn chairs in the churchyard. The pianist brought out her keyboard — using clothespins to clamp the hymnbook onto a music stand.
“We had music and songs and [we were] going on just like it was an ordinary Sunday,” longtime congregation member Paul Surface said.
The church received a “tremendous” monetary donation from Waveland Christians in Action to assist in the cleanup, and individuals have given money for the effort.
“I don’t think they should get off scot-free from this, but I really don’t know what to say,” Surface said about the children accused in the incident. “You just don’t know what those kind of kids have gone through their whole life.”
“But the neat thing is,” he later added, “that our Savior died for those kids just as he did for you and I, so we have to forgive them.”
