In the early hours of the morning on Friday 19th July, St. Mary’s Church sadly suffered from a significant act of vandalism. Several gravestones in the churchyard were severely damaged and almost every window and door in the church hall were smashed. The perpetrator(s) then continued into Church Street where several cars were also damaged. Police attended the scene and interviewed local residents, many of whom had heard the disturbance during the night.
As you can imagine, this act of vandalism has been very shocking for us at St. Mary’s and to the wider community in Baldock. However, we are very encouraged by the messages of support from the local community and from further afield. The incident attracted news attention and Reverend Phillipa was interviewed by BBC Three Counties local radio, ITV Anglia and Premier Christian Radio. We are grateful that nobody was hurt during the incident and that the main church itself was not damaged.
Following the attack, the hall was initially completely closed, meaning that the Food Bank and other activities that take place in the hall had to be cancelled or moved to other locations at short notice. Our priority has been to clear all the glass and make the hall safe to use as quickly as possible, so that the normal activities can resume. Thanks to our amazing volunteers, we have now been able to make the entrance area safe and the hall is currently open on a restricted basis. Tidying up on the main hall will be completed this week so that the hall can be fully open from 28th July. For the time being, the windows and doors are still boarded up, so it is a little darker than usual inside. We will be moving forward with repairs as swiftly as possible, but, of course, these things take time.
We will endeavour to keep everyone informed about news and progress as we go. We are trying to keep a positive attitude and trusting God that he can bring good things out of this terrible situation. Thank you all for your support and prayers!