The brass eagle lectern at St Peter's Anglican Church in Wellington was damaged on Easter weekend.
Photo / St Peter's on Willis
The brass eagle lectern at St Peter's Anglican Church in Wellington was damaged on Easter weekend.
Photo / St Peter's on Willis
A central Wellington church has been left in shock after its lectern was intentionally damaged on Easter weekend.
The incident follows the theft of a similar brass eagle lectern at a Canterbury church last month.
St Peter’s Anglican Church on Willis St says it has been forced to close whenunattended, while arrangements are made to repair the large brass lectern, which features an eagle with wings outstretched.
“We were shocked to discover last night that someone had damaged our brass lectern in the late afternoon,” it wrote in a Facebook post last night.
A note on the building’s front door says it must remain closed “due to some intentional damage done in the church”.
A notice on the door at St Peter's Anglican Church in Wellington. Photo / St Peter's on Willis
A photo shared by the church shows the fixture toppled forward from its stand, with the eagle-shaped top section knocked over but still attached to the base.
A livestream from Sunday morning’s service, celebrating the day of resurrection, shows the lectern covered with a black sheet.
Addressing parishioners, co-vicar Reverend Jean Malcolm said the damage was discovered when church members arrived to prepare for their Easter vigil service the night before.
“When we arrived last night to set up for our vigil service, shockingly, we discovered that someone had been in, in the afternoon and tried to take our brass eagle lectern and it was in a very broken state,” she said.
“It’s horrible that people have not honoured our space in the way that we expect it to be honoured and yet even they are welcome here.”
Eagle lecterns are a traditional fixture in Anglican churches, symbolising the spreading of the Gospel.
A forensics team will attend St Peter's Anglican church after an attempted theft.
Malcolm told the Herald the incident seemed “calculated” due to the lectern’s size.
She said it had been partially dismantled and normally required three strong people to move.
Easter service at St Peter's Anglican Church. Photo / St Peter's on Willis
Malcolm saidthe church, which is usually open during daylight hours and is used by community groups, wants to keep its doors open despite the “invasion of space”.
“We don’t want this to be a reason to close it, that’s our heartfelt kaupapa, that this is a place where all are welcome.”
Malcolm said if she met those responsible, she would ask them to “help us understand why you did it”.
“But also please understand how it’s affected the people of St Peter’s, none of whom are wealthy and for whom this is their home.”
She said the damage left “a real sense of disrespect for the people and the holiness of the space”.
