On Christmas Eve, a vandal shattered almost every stained glass window at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Austin, Texas. But that did not stop congregants from gathering, cleaning up the mess, and continuing on with the Christmas services.
"Have a Merry Christmas because this is not going to stop us," Pastor Eric Borchers of the Our Savior Lutheran Church said in a video posted on Facebook after the incident, Faithwire reported. The preacher offered forgiveness to the vandal but admitted that the community hadn't seen anything like it in its 20 years of history.
The church's security cameras found the vandal coming in at around 6 a.m. wielding what looked like a metal pole with a signage attached, which he then used to break the windows of the church. Pastor Borchers said he assumed that the vandal was not in his right mind at the time of the crime. The vandal even appeared to be whistling after leaving the scene of the crime.
While Pastor Borchers admitted it was a "little frustrating" to witness the damage left by the vandal, the congregants soon came together to take action and clean up just in time for worship services to continue with no delays. Pastor Borchers took to social media to call upon the community to lend a hand in the cleanup process.
"The church has been vandalized on Christmas Eve. That really kind of stinks," Pastor Borchers said in a video posted to Facebook, reminding the community that Christmas Eve services will go on as planned despite the incident. "By the grace of God, it definitely ties in with a world that is in chaos for the message tonight here."
People in the community responded positively to the pastor's call to action, appearing at the church to sweep the glass and board up the windows that were left open because of the vandalism incident. KXAN-TV reported that the community members finished cleaning up in time to host the Christmas Eve service. The church also held another Saturday morning service for Christmas Day.
As for Pastor Borchers, he said he forgives the vandal who was responsible for breaking almost all the stained glass windows of the church and expressed thoughts for his well being. The pastor remarked, "It is what it is, and I hope he is okay and I hope he is safe."
The vandal is believed to have caused over $100,000 worth in damage to church property, Fox 7 Austin reported. Pastor Borchers admitted, "I've been angry enough in my own life to want to break something but never to this extent."
Pastor Borchers remarked to KVUE ABC, "It's all about how we live in a completely chaotic world and we have a Savior who came into this world for us to make things right. It's not going to all get better, but we have Someone to lean on, Someone to save us, Someone to redeem us."
