Murfreesboro Post
MURFREESBORO WEATHER

Church offers forgiveness, mentoring to boys accused of vandalism




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church 1

A predominantly black church that was vandalized has chosen reconciliation and in return has received a blessing.

Walnut Grove Missionary Baptist Church was heavily damaged, the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office said on Sept 18. “KKK” was written in Bibles and “We are white and we are watching you, white power” was written on the doors of the church. Toilets were stopped up and were overflowing.

The RCSO on Sept. 18 charged two boys, ages 14 and 16, with burglary, theft and vandalism. A video camera stolen from the church was found in the woods behind the church. A detective arrested two more boys, ages 15 and 16, and charged them with burglary and vandalism on Sept. 19.

District Attorney General Jennings H. Jones said Tennessee does not have a hate crime statute. Jones’ office will prosecute the case, and may explore the option of using a “hate crime enhancer.” That means that if the case goes to sentencing the office may ask the judge to increase the punishment if it is found the incident was committed for race or other hate crime reasons.

Church seeks to mentor suspect

The church’s pastor, the Rev. Richard W. Sibert, said the congregation spoke to the parents of one of the boys and plans to mentor the youth. The church members know all but one of the youths, who is homeschooled, he said. The others attend an alternative school. They were placed on house arrest and cannot be in contact with one another, he said.

The first youth’s parents have agreed for the church to mentor him, Sibert said. He said that he is concerned that all these boys have had problems at home or with police or juvenile authorities.

“That floored me that they are not first-time offenders,” he said.

The church congregation does not know what form the mentoring will take, the pastor said. They are waiting to hear back from the family before proceeding.

Sibert said it is hard to tell if the youths are connected to a hate group. He spoke to the principal of Oakland High School, where some of the boys had attended school.

“I was concerned there could be others who are harboring the same kind of attitude and disposition about different ethnic groups,” Sibert said.

With Walnut Grove being a black church, Sibert said he does not believe the vandalism is a coincidence.

Diverse groups help church

But the church members have not chosen to dwell on the negative. Instead, just as they have reached out in friendship to one of the accused boys, they are receiving blessings. People of different races and religions helped to repair the damages and attended their Sunday, Sept. 23 service.

“We are blessed with the way the community rallied behind us to help clean up our church and remove those insidious remarks that were written on our doors,” Sibert said. “We were gratified. We were taken aback by the outpouring of love and compassion.”

Those who helped out included Jason Ayers and the staff at Veterans Pressure Washing; Jennifer Vannoy, Derek Faulkner and friends from Renewed Life Ministries; Tammy Harmon; Ahmed Ragab; members of the Girl Scouts; members from Murfreesboro Muslim Youth; and members of the Bahá’í Faith.

New Murfreesboro City Councilman Ronnie Martin was one of those who attended the Sept. 23 service. Sibert said Martin’s attendance showed love and compassion.

Martin said, “It made me really proud of the church and of our community that in the face of what they were dealing with, to have such a positive response and such a forgiving heart for the vandals. I feel sorry it happened to them, but it felt good to be part of a group acknowledging it but responding positively.”

Martin said he was not necessarily representing the council at the service but attending as an elected official.

“It’s important for people to know we’re paying attention as people are struggling,” he said, adding that it is important for elected officials to say they do not support hate acts. “That’s not the community we live in.”

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