By Chris B. Bennett
The Seattle Medium
What was supposed to be a grand occasion for the members of Curry Temple C.M.E. Church located of the corner of 23rd & Spruce in Seattle’s Central Area turned out to be a day they wish they could turn back the clocks on as they found the inside of their church vandalized with symbols of hate Sunday morning.
Charles Eakers, one of the church’s trustees, entered the building to find Swastikas, the word “Niggars” and the message “go back to Africa” spray painted in black letters throughout the building.
“A lot of people walked in here and were crying,” says Eakers of the response from church members as they entered the church on Sunday morning. “It’s ridiculous. Why do you want to harm a church? If you are new in the city and you need help, where is the first place you go?”
Eakers was making his weekly early morning visit to turn on the heat in the church so that the building would be comfortable for members when they arrived for worship services when he discovered the vandalism.
“I seen all this spray paint on the walls and I immediately walked back outside and took my cell and called the police department,” said Eakers.
According to Eakers, police found a hammer, screwdriver and some gloves that they are processing as evidence. In addition, vandals broke into two church offices including the finance office.
“They broke into the file cabinet and took a debit card and the checkbook,” said Joyce Clark, a trustee at the church.
Church officials say that interior lights on the backside of the building are also not working as a result of the vandalism, and that they are still trying to identify the source of the issue. As of press time, they did not know the full extent of the damages, but thankfully the altar and pulpit were untouched.
“We’ve got to replace all the locks that have been broken downstairs,” said Clark.
“This is just the visual that we have right now,” added Clark. “We don’t know what else we will find.”
There are mixed feelings about the vandalism and some believe that it may be related to people who have an interest in purchasing the property. According to Eakers, people have been actively trying to acquire the church’s property. They’ve sent letters, called him at home and even called the church’s Bishop who lives in California.
“It might be a setup because they want this building,” says Eakers. “It might be something to frighten us, to make us afraid so we will sell and get out.”
But church members say that they aren’t selling the building, and this incident will not change their minds.
“Now we are more determined than ever to stay here,” says Clark. “You’re not going to get it [the building] just because of what we’re having to go through. We’re not giving up because we know God’s got our back.”
Church officials say that the church has been a cornerstone in the community for years. Today, the congregation actively collects and distributes clothing to those in need, provides shelter to the homeless, and they go downtown and feed the homeless every third Sunday.
“We’ve been on this corner and we’ve done a lot of good things,” says Eakers. “We ain’t about hurting nobody or harming nobody, we are trying to help people.”
Despite the setback, the church did hold its 67th anniversary celebration as scheduled. A breakfast to take place this Sat., April 30 at 10:00 a.m., which was originally schedule as part of the anniversary celebration, is now scheduled as an event to help the congregation heal. Tickets to the breakfast are $10.
“Now that we need prayer, we want everyone to get together,” says Clark. “We want everybody to pray with us because that’s what we need. We need to let people know that you can’t be stronger and better than God.”
