Church Vandalized for Kids’ Innocence
Senior Pastor Kevin O’Connor shares what happened to The Arc Church after its school board victories!
The ARK Church of the Nazarene leaders spent months preparing for April’s Holy Week observances, creating a welcoming environment for visitors and members. However, the weekend of Palm Sunday brought an unanticipated distraction -- they were faced with a clean-up job that wasn’t on their list: removing swastikas sprayed on several signs and roofing tacks in their parking lots.
Police responded to the incident and are investigating, but Pastor Kevin O’Connor believes the attack was retribution for the church’s ongoing role in shaping policy at the local school board.
Just days before the attack, about 50 members of the church turned out for a meeting of the Redlands Unified School District governing board. Church members were greeted with hateful signs, and during the meeting several of those opposing the members’ views were escorted out for shouting and booing during public testimony. The ARK, a multi-ethnic congregation with members from Pakistan, Vietnam, Korea, China, El Salvador, Brazil, and Mexico, was slammed as being White Nationalist.
“They were not happy that the church showed up in force,” Pastor Kevin said.
The attacks are not new for the congregation. Since November, when two church members were elected to the district’s governing board, the church’s online platforms and reviews have been hacked with libelous accusations, including unfounded sexual abuse. Law enforcement is also investigating these instances.
“They're trying to smear the people in our church,” he said. “They're trying to smear me as a pastor.”
Pastor Kevin realized that taking a more active role in influencing the culture could come with risks, but after attending a Day of Repentance gathering at the U.S. Capitol with Church United, he knew his congregation, now in its 114th year, was called to embrace and promote biblical truth, especially to children.
“I was impressed,” he said. “I immediately, when I went home, signed up for the Church United mailing that goes out through email. I get it all the time and I love it.”
Influencing culture was what ARK members were doing at the April 8 board meeting, seeking three policy changes that would:
Require school officials to notify parents if their child changes their identity or name
Remove sexually explicit books, described as pornographic, from library shelves
Ban all classroom flags except the American and California state flag.
A fourth topic, banning biological boys from competing in women’s sports, was scheduled for a later date and eventually won board approval.
Despite the pushback and hate-filled responses, Pastor Kevin said he and his congregation are committed to their calling to be a voice in the wilderness. The trials reminded the pastor of when he was first called to the church more than 14 years ago. One of the initial changes he implemented was renaming the congregation The ARK.
“The ARK is a place where families can find refuge from the storm that's coming,’” Pastor Kevin recollected.
In addition to the attacks from the secular community, Pastor Kevin said he’s been deeply disappointed by fellow clergy who remain on the sidelines. After the vandalism attack, four pastors offered to help the ARK with repairs. Whatever you need, he was told.
“I told them, ‘What you could really do is pray and show up (with) some of your people that believe that truth needs to go out and that our public schools can't be taken over by a radical agenda.,’” he said, adding that's when the tone of the conversation changed. The responses changed to “We don't do that” and “We’re not that kind of church.”
Their feedback saddened Pastor Kevin.
“My pastor friends, they get this wrong,” he said. “They keep on saying we've become a political church. I said, ‘No, they've learned to find their voice about truth, and truth just doesn't stay in the walls of the church.’ It has to go out to the community, or you'll never get heaven on earth.”
The ARK pastor said he’s disheartened that pastors don’t feel they have the right or obligation to speak to public matters. He’s convinced that if a few more spiritual leaders rallied to the cause, it would transform the city.
“Back in the day, Redlands used to be called the City of Churches,” he said. “They can target our church because we're the only church. The rest of the churches have not made a stand. If it were five or six churches, they would have a tough time.”
The FBI continues to investigate the crimes committed at The Arc Church, and Church United will update you when the details are made public.