COPE, S.C. — Four air conditioning units at Canaan United Methodist Church were vandalized Friday night and the church’s pastor is hoping the perpetrators get right with God and with the law.

“We feel so violated,” the Rev. Whittaker Middleton said. “It is such a violation to work so hard with the way the economy is now. We don’t have a large congregation but we have a committed and a very loving congregation.”

The copper inside the units, which help cool the church’s four-year-old, 5,500-square-foot Family Life Center, was completely removed.

“They just totally tore them apart,” Middleton said. “It was almost like a tornado. You have to see it to believe it. These were five-ton units.”

Middleton, who also serves as Claflin University’s vice president for institutional advancement, estimates the damage at more than $30,000. He hopes the units will be repaired within the next few weeks, with the cost covered by insurance and church fund-raising efforts.

Due to the damage, activities at the Family Life Center will be suspended until the air conditioning is restored, Middleton said. The center has classroom space, a conference center and a kitchen.

In addition to the theft, someone left tire tracks throughout the church’s property, ruining the grass, he said.

Middleton believes the thieves gained access to the units by cutting a hole in the fence the church installed about three years ago following a similar incident. At that time, about two air conditioning units were stolen from the church. The damage then was about $8,000.

Middleton said law enforcement officials were unable to find the perpetrators last time.

He hopes this time will be different, “and that a signal is sent to people who prey upon God’s churches in this area,” Middleton said. “Until we send that signal, we will continue to have this problem.”

Canaan was not the only church targeted by vandalism over the weekend.

Orangeburg’s Mount Olive Baptist Church saw about $100 worth of damage to its front parking lot and side and rear grass areas, according to a report on file at the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office Monday.

The church reported an unknown vehicle cut doughnuts in the grass on the church’s side and rear. Rocks were also apparently thrown at the church. There was no damage to the building.

The incident occurred sometime between Sept. 9 and Sept. 12.

Orangeburg County Sheriff Larry Williams said the vandalism of churches and in particular air conditioning units peaked a couple of years ago when copper prices were much higher.

“You have so many churches that are left unprotected in the county. You don’t have enough personnel to cover every church in the county. It is very hurtful to me when a church pastor calls. I can sympathize with them,” he said.

Williams said the office has tried to increase patrols and has a 10- to 20-point checklist and profiles of individuals buying copper.

“We are going to give them (churches) all we got and that is a promise,” he said.

Middleton says he thinks the church’s isolated location off of Highway 73 has made it a target.

“It is apparent they were very spiteful in not only breaking the air conditioning unit but also tearing up the yard,” he said. “They had no regard for the church at all.”

Middleton said he is hoping to install additional security features on the church grounds.

What does he hope happens now?

“I hope they would seek the Lord and ask for repentance for the sins they are committing against this house of the Lord,” Middleton said. “They need to see forgiveness for the damage they are doing. They are doing a treacherous act against a place where God’s spirit dwells. I hope they would cease doing it and turn themselves in to the authorities.

An anonymous source has provided a $1,000 reward to the person who can lead to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the vandalism.

Anyone with information on the crime is asked to call Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office at 803-534-3550 or CrimeStoppers at 1-888-CRIMESC.

T&D Staff Writer Gene Zaleski can be reached by e-mail at gzaleski@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5551. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com

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