St Andrew's Church, Grange. A Parish Church under siege. Spring 2007
It is sad to note that for the past three months, some heartless criminals and shameless individuals had mounted a systematic and persistent attack on the Parish Church of St Andrews at the Grange, Runcorn. The criminals attack the building at night and steal the expensive copper materials used to cover the roof of the Church. Some come to smash the glass windows with huge blocks and stones. This persistent attack has ripped off all the upper coverings of the roof and other aesthetic materials used on the top of the ceiling, thus, exposing the roof to bare rough coverings. The entire building is now in shambles. It would be flooded when the first set of rains come because the roof is now destroyed and the copper materials that were used to keep the metals in place have all been stolen and probably sold as scrap. The glass windows are smashed consistently and the compound is full of litter every other day. The dwarf walls that beautify the compound and at times provide seats for those waiting for buses and those relaxing after some hectic day's work now look very dirty and unkempt.
The alarming rate of vandalism on the Church shows that there are many unpatriotic and criminally-minded people who do not want anything good and decent in the community. Such enemies of tile community carry out anti-social and criminal acts of vandalism that present a wrong image about our entire Runcom Town and Grange Estate in particular. The damage on the Church is not necessarily an attack on the Church per se but on the entire estate and town. A few disgruntled and misguided elements in society can bring our good image and reputation to the mud. The Insurance companies, the Police, the Government Officials in the Borough, the Building Industries, the Church leaders among others, going through their records will invariably brand the community a very high risk area because of the rate of stealing and damage that have been going on for some time in the community. Such would drag our image to the mud. Some Building Societies may feel reluctant to come and embark on projects in our area because of the high incidence of robbery and damage that a few criminals are carrying out in our society. The good people of Runcom and the Grange in particular should not allow a few miscreants to continue to damage our image.
The police have been called in several times but this has not stopped the criminals from carrying out their persistent nefarious and reckless attacks on the sacred edifice. The unfortunate thing is that in spite of regular police night patrols, no arrest has been made. Another surprising thing is that no one at the busy shopping area ever knows what time of the night the thieves strike.
The die-hard and dare-devil thieves take a lot of risk climbing the high building at night to strip off the coverings off the roof. putting their own lives and safety at a very great danger.
The criminal acts of vandalism and stealing have demoralized the members of the Church who are working hard to raise money to re-order the building and install many facilities for greater use for the public. The conspicuous location of the Church at a strategical nerve centre of the community has offered a lot of social and communal services to the people. Many social, religious and government agencies use the premises for programmes that serve our community good. For instance the National Blood Bank has been using the Church for Blood Bank Services. The Halton Housing Trust uses it for display of materials of public enlightenment. The Church has been welcoming all sorts of people who have any good thing to offer for the improvement of life in out community. It is, therefore, unacceptable for anyone to pay back the Church with such acts of antisocial and destructive behaviour. The Benefits Agency and some other government bodies use it as well to mount enlightenment campaigns for the good of our community. It is in effect a Church at the heart of the community which opens its doors for young people, old, moms and tots, senior citizens, for Bingo, Coffee Cafe~ Spring and Summer Fayres. Christingle, Carols, Painting, all sorts of exhibitions, Dancing, School, Assemblies and Plays, Drama, Music, Debates, Indoor games, etc. The Church Hall which suffered a lot similar acts of relentless attacked has now been boarded. We are sourcing for funds to build a State of the Art Hall for the use of the entire community. In spite of the shameful acts of the evil ones in the society, the Church will not stop making its contributions to the development and welfare of our community. Yet the way the thieves and reckless people destroy the Church property and litter the compound clearly show that such criminals are not the enemies of the Church alone but also enemies of the entire community.
We pray them to have a change of heart and also warn that they are putting their lives at risk. by attacking the things of God and the welfare of the community. Sooner or later, the law will catch up with them. The Church belongs to all of us and we need to preserve it with jealous care. It is a very important institution in our social and spiritual life and must be respected and used for the purpose of which it is built. Any who sees anybody destroying or stealing any thing in the Church should, please. endeavour to phone the Police. This is the only way we can preserve this prominent institution in our community.
Meanwhile, we count on the goodwill of our people to help in tracking the criminals who have been harassing the community and damaging and stealing things from the Church.
Udobata
Udobata R. Onunwa PhD. Incumbent Resident Priest.
(Your pastor and friend).