Members of 135-year-old Winchester church ‘sick’ after vandal desecrates sanctuary
Members of a 135-year-old Winchester church are heartbroken after the most recent break-in to their sanctuary, when a vandal broke stained-glass windows, ripped a 140-year-old Bible out of its binding and left behind cigarette butts.
The Winchester Community United Methodist Church was ransacked late Friday, Jan. 29, by one person, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department reported.
The person spent almost 12 hours inside the church, according to video surveillance footage, and left shortly after 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 30, a church leader said. No arrests have been made as of Thursday, Feb. 4, a sheriff’a spokesperson said.
Decorations were pulled from walls; porcelain lamps, candles and other items were broken; cigarette butts, furniture and paper trash were left lying about. A cross was knocked over and an American flag was found on the floor. The church’s original pump organ had scratches and dents. Nothing was stolen, members said.
“It was the biggest mess you ever saw,” said Bill Lotspeich, the church caretaker and chair of its board of trustees. “(The suspect) came through the back window, kicked the door open to get into the storage room, and from there entered the sanctuary, and totally desecrated the place. I was just sick, and still am. I just can’t imagine anyone would do this to a church.”
A depiction of The Last Supper is picked up off the floor and laid across chairs by Winchester Community United Methodist Church members George Echevarria, Nancy Lotspeich and Deborah Madison on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. A vandal ransacked the sanctuary over the weekend. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Winchester Community United Methodist Church member Bill Lotspeich adjusts a stained-glass cross above the altar Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
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A depiction of The Last Supper lays across chairs inside the vandalized Winchester Community United Methodist Church as member Thomas Bartley carries cleaning supplies Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Winchester Community United Methodist Church members Bill Lotspeich, Peggy Hammer and Deborah Madison clean inside the vandalized church Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Winchester Community United Methodist Church member Deborah Madison picks up a collection plate inside the vandalized sanctuary Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021 as church members Nancy Lotspeich, George Echevarria and Bill Lotspeich assist. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Winchester Community United Methodist Church member Deborah Madison prepares to place the church’s damaged 140-year old Bible back on its table as Nancy Lotspeich assists Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
A plaque is seen on the outer door of the Winchester Community United Methodist Church on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Winchester Community United Methodist Church member Bill Lotspeich places a cross back on the altar Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
A depiction of The Last Supper lays across chairs inside the vandalized Winchester Community United Methodist Church as members Peggy Hammer and Bill Lotspeich clean up Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Winchester Community United Methodist Church member Nancy Lotspeich looks over the damage inside the sanctuary Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Winchester Community United Methodist Church member Bill Lotspeich puts chairs back in order inside the vandalized sanctuary Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
A 140-year old Bible, which was torn from its binding, sits on a piano Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021, inside the Winchester Community United Methodist Church. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Winchester Community United Methodist Church member Agata McCleary carries a broom into the vandalized church Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Winchester Community United Methodist Church members Bill Lotspeich, his wife Nancy, and Deborah Madison work inside the vandalized sanctuary Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
A hymnal, with its pages scattered, lays on the floor inside the Winchester Community United Methodist Church on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Winchester Community United Methodist Church members Nancy Lotspeich and Deborah Madison clean inside the vandalized sanctuary Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021, after the church was broken into over the weekend. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
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Pastor Terry Fisher discovered the mess Sunday morning, Jan. 31, when members arrived to celebrate their outdoor service.
“As our church members saw that morning, it was pretty distressing. I went in to unlock the sanctuary doors before the service, so that people can use the bathrooms, and immediately saw the horrendous damage,” Fisher said. “As I stood there and just looked around at all of the destruction this guy had caused, I thought, this was definitely a troubled soul who may have had very serious emotional problems, (heightened) by the pandemic.”
Members spent part of that Sunday service praying for the perpetrator, Fisher said.
It was one of three recent break-ins at the Methodist church since January, and the most severe, members said. They said $3,000 worth of tools were previously stolen from the storage shed, there was a past broken window, and staff found blood in the restroom — all in the past four weeks. A sheriff’s spokesperson could not be reached Thursday to confirm reports of these past incidents.
Winchester, an unincorporated community just east of Menifee and northwest of Diamond Valley Lake, has a population of 3,322, as of the last U.S. Census survey from 2019.
The church was founded in 1886, and has had a significant impact on the town, according to longtime church-goer Mary Milholland. The original sanctuary building still stands, with a few upgrades, including bathrooms.
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Milholland and other congregation members gathered Wednesday, Feb. 3, to clean up the mess and reflect on the significance of their church and faith community. Lotspeich estimated that the repairs, particularly on the historic Bible and stained-glass windows, could cost at least $5,000.
“It was heartbreaking to see the church in such disarray,” said Millholland, 73, who grew up going to the church’s original Sunday school. “I’m just so thankful that the damages weren’t worse. It’s just a matter of putting things back together.”
Milholland said the neighborly 52-member church, made up mostly of older residents, feels for her “like coming home.”
“We’re a little church,” Fisher said, “but people love that little church.”
No fundraisers to cover the damages have yet been planned, but Fisher said anyone willing to help can email him at revterryfisher@gmail.com.
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