Another El Paso Church Vandalized

Abundant Living Faith Center’s westside location was vandalized Monday evening.  This marks the second time in a little over a month that an El Paso place of worship has sustained damages. Back in mid-June, Destiny Family Christian Center in northeast sustained damages as well.

Among the property destroyed at ALFC located at 7100 N. Desert Blvd. are 27 shattered windows and 6 broken doors.  On June 14, Destiny Family Christian Center, a predominantly black church located at 9615 Dyer had large rocks thrown through the front entrance of its building in another troubling incident.  Other than being instances of places of worship being vandalized, there have not been any reports that these two cases are connected.

It is heartless and shows ignorance and a lack of basic human compassion when a person (or persons) makes the decision to knowingly and maliciously destroy anything that is not theirs.  The feeling of vulnerability and outrage on behalf of those victimized is heightened when any church is defaced.  It is no longer just damages incurred to a building, it’s now an attack on those individuals and their faith.

These are hateful acts committed by hateful people and the irony of it is that those who attend these churches would no doubt have welcomed these individuals, and would probably still forgive and welcome them into their community.

The fact that this happened once is troubling, the fact that it continues to happen (anywhere, not just in El Paso) is soul crushing.  The El Paso that I know is kinder and more inclusive.  I sincerely hope that our city continues to prove its resilience and doesn’t become defined by the shameful acts of individuals who do not represent what makes this city so amazing.