Services were still held this morning in a Bayview church, even after it was hit with racist graffiti and vandalism earlier in the week.
The St. Paul's Tabernacle Church, located on the 1700 block of Oakdale Avenue, was broken in to in the middle of the night, and the vandals spray painted the walls, smashed mirrors, and poured bleach all over the pews. Because nothing of value was stolen—including TVs and a computer—deacon Marvin Osborne believes the vandalism had racist motives behind it. "I definitely believe it was a hate crime," he told KTVU.
"Hurtful is deep, but this went deeper," said bishop Greg Valentine .
Even Valentine's office was ransacked, and the number "666" and racial epithets were spray painted in his office along with the church's sanctuary. "I couldn't even tell you what the cost is of the damage," said Valentine.
St. Paul's was set to put the finishing touches on a 5-week remodel. "The contractor was going to come out today and put the finishing touches on the painting," said Osborne.
Earlier in the week, racist graffiti was discovered in the Mission. Murals were tagged with the phrase "white power."
The San Francisco chapter of Showing Up For Racial Justice has set up an online fundraiser to benefit St. Paul's.