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In the Wake of Vandalism, Welcome Travelers Baptist Church Lives Up To Its Name. And Then Some.

Every now and then, I re-learn some long-forgotten lesson about the human heart and its capacity for love. This is one of those times. 

There’s so much awful news in this world these days, that the heart tends to grow numb from the sheer weight of it all. This story sifted through the numbness and just plain broke my heart. It also lifted it. Seeing the sheer violence of this vandalism – the savaged organ, the church pews and carpet thoroughly littered with glass shards and splayed hymnals – I was moved to tears. But I was equally moved by the response of the congregation of this church, who gathered in the wake of this crime to pray for the man who caused $30,000-40,000 worth of damage to their church. 

“As a man of God and as a Christian we need to be in our hearts willing to forgive because God told us to love our enemies and I don’t consider him as our enemy but we still have to love and forgive him for what he’s done,” Reverend Donald Bookard said.

Members of the church say that, yes, they’re sad and angry, but they must move on and forgive Michael Tony Isbell — the man who vandalized this small country church by breaking 12 of the 14 windows, throwing the pews onto the lawn, tearing apart the church’s organ (a family heirloom), along with the church’s other musical instruments, the podium, the pulpit, the refrigerator, and everything else he could possibly break. Isbell’s motives are unknown. The FBI is investigating to determine whether this was a hate crime.

Donations to Fix What’s Broken

This is not a wealthy church. Although I am not affiliated with this church and don’t even claim to know a single one of its members, the local news reported that the congregation will need donations to pay for these repairs. Anyone who would like to donate toward the estimated $30,000 to 40,000 needed for repairs can send donations to the church’s address, below. And it would be particularly lovely if there were a stained glass artist(s) somewhere out there who might be interested in donating new windows. Or an organ repair person who could donate his or her services to the church.

Welcome Travelers Baptist Church
c/o Rev. Donald Bookard
PO Box 871
Aiken, SC 29801

Church Telephone: 803-642-2815 (the phone does not appear to be manned at all hours)

Rev. Donald Bookard:  Telephone (803) 341-5959 or email at dbookard@comcast.net

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photos courtesy of Michael Aiken

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