Undaunted by vandalism, West End church bands together

Worshippers at the historic Old West Church see the vandalism committed there as an act of spiritual warfare, designed to break or injure their collective soul.

But for those at the Cambridge Street church in Boston's West End, the trashing of the sanctuary -- including the slashing of a highly stylized acrylic painting of Jesus -- did not damage the soul. It strengthened it.

``There is no place I would rather be than here," said Harry Johnson of Brookline, who was a regular church attendant in the 1980s and returned yesterday after learning the church was vandalized. ``I came here to assess the spirit, and the spirit is alive and intact."

Old West Church was hit by someone last week who desecrated the pulpit Bible, yanked Easter lilies from their pots, threw Methodist hymnals on the floor, cut up the century-old paintings of the church's original pastors, and damaged a 6-by-5-foot modern acrylic painting of Jesus donated to the church by local painter Giovanni DeCunto .

Yesterday, church officials prayed for the miscreants, prayed for themselves, and announced plans to create a donation drive to help fix the paintings and update the church security system.

The church showed no signs of forced entry, officials said, leading them to believe the vandals had hidden under a pew or in a bathroom until after the church was locked. The church also plans to revamp its procedures for nonmember meetings, to ensure that the doors are locked and all visitors have left the building when the meetings conclude.

The Rev. Charles Carnahan of Malden did not specifically sermonize on the vandalism, but discussed biblical law (The Ten Commandments say, ``Thou shalt not steal"), and reminded the congregation to keep its spiritual focus.

``It's just one occurrence in the life of this congregation," said Carnahan, who was filling in for the pastor, the Rev. Laurel Scott. ``We believe each day is a new day. Most of the prayers centered on praying for those who did this. It's an emphasis on our relationship with God."

About 15 people made up the church's attendance yesterday, most of them kneeling midservice to take a weekly communion of juice and flat bread in the same place where John F. Kennedy voted in the 1960 presidential election and where Vietnam War protestors were treated for injuries when the nearby hospital ran out of space. The service and songs emphasized the basics of Christianity, ideals such as not stealing, not hurting anyone, and keeping God first.

DeCunto , of the North End, donated the painting to the church in 1992 . Yesterday, he grimaced as he hefted the painting near the back of the sanctuary, and turned away from the congregation so it would not see the wound down the center of the savior's belly.

``We need to get public support to help these guys," said DeCunto, who rode his bike over after his lawyer suggested he look at the painting, which is named ``Icon Through the Ages."

``I wanted to make a statement," said DeCunto, who donated the work to the church at a time when it was under fire for welcoming homosexual worshippers. ``I'm totally against any kind of injustice."

So is the church, which is known for smuggling slaves to freedom via the Underground Railroad and being the home church to the clergyman who created the term ``no taxation without representation." It is celebrating 200 years in its building near Massachusetts General Hospital.

The paintings can be salvaged, he added, but the process is expensive and essentially requires paying a specialist to lift the paint from one canvas and setting it down on another.

Police say the matter is under investigation.

Adrienne P. Samuels can be reached at asamuels@globe.com.