Pastor Troy Garrett of Ocean View Lighthouse Church in Norfolk, Virginia, led cleanup efforts after a vandal broke more than 30 church windows last week. While the vandalism didn’t stop the church from holding Sunday services, Garrett went even further to offer forgiveness for the person at fault.
“We don’t know why and it’s not my job to figure out why,” Garrett told local news.
Norfolk Pastor Offers Forgiveness for Church Vandal
Thursday morning—just three days before Sunday services—Pastor Garrett received a phone call from a church member saying that someone had broken multiple church windows.
Garrett, who has served as pastor for two years, reviewed footage taken by the security cameras on the church property. He saw a person throwing landscaping stones into the church windows, shattering each one.
The vandalism happened around midnight, early Thursday morning. A total of 31 windows were broken.
“Forgive the person who did it,” Garrett said to local news. “We don’t know why, and it’s not my job to figure out why. It’s my job to live and forgive no matter what.”
Garrett filed a police report and trusted local law enforcement for justice. But the pastor is focusing on loving well following the incident.
It was a community effort to board up the broken windows quickly and prepare for the weekend services. Church members volunteered their time, and a nearby neighbor brought in bottled water.
Services went ahead as planned on Sunday. The sermon was titled, “Who Are You For,” and the pastor focused on people’s “response to God in the midst of uncertainty and hardship. Our response is always to trust him in all things and to praise him.”
The church’s website further explained a connection between recent events and the week’s sermon topic, saying, “Earlier this week, on Aug. 15 at midnight, the church was vandalized and many of the windows were broken.”
“This service is in light of such an atrocity against the church to encourage the church and anyone listening or watching to always trust in God to defend, protect, and rescue his people,” the sermon description continued. “Our ultimate hope is in the forgiveness of our own sins and in the promise of eternal life.”
