LOS ANGELES, CA – Pastor Jessie Smith arrived at Faith Tabernacle Church in Los Angeles early this morning after the burglar alarm was triggered. No one took anything. No one desecrated the sanctuary. A rock was the culprit. An individual, who has yet to be identified, decided to throw the object through the window of the church, which led to the alarm going off and Pastor Smith, along with local authorities, responding.
“When I arrived, I didn’t even know that was the rock that they used,” Pastor Smith told the press. He referenced the rock still at the scene of the crime.
“The police told me they used the rock to break the window, and then when I got here, I saw that rock and I was like, ‘That’s a pretty good-sized rock,'” the clergyman said.
This is not the first time Faith Tabernacle Church has been vandalized in this manner. The place of worship, located in the Sawtelle area of West Los Angeles, was previously damaged with a rock thrown through the window.
“It’s unfortunate that it keeps happening,” Pastor Smith told the press.
Having a history that spans more than 100 years, Faith Tabernacle Church serves as a pillar for the West Los Angeles community. Pastors Alice and Cloid Banning founded the church in 1924 after feeling the call to move from Oklahoma to Los Angeles.
What began as meetings in the Bannings’garage evolved into the need for more space, which ultimately led to the purchase of land on Olympic and Purdue in 1938. Faith Tabernacle Church has endeavored to spread hope through service in the Sawtelle neighborhood ever since.
In line with the church’s emphasis on hope, Pastor Jessie Smith is hopeful that the vandalisms will cease. “I hope it stops,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s the same person,” he added. “If it is … please stop. It’s getting very expensive.”