A Pulpit Set Alight, a Lectern Destroyed: Arsonists Strike the Same St Andrew Church Twice in a Month

• Sts Peter and Paul Catholic Church in St Andrew was attacked by arsonists for a second time in October 2017
• The pulpit was set on fire and a lectern and five monitors were destroyed
• Food was stolen from the church kitchen
• A September fire at the same church had caused about $100,000 in damage

For the second time in a month, Sts Peter and Paul Catholic Church in St Andrew was targeted by arsonists. The Jamaica Observer reported in October 2017 that the church was attacked around midnight, when intruders vandalised the building and set fire to parts of the interior.

“The building was vandalised and selected sections of the interior, including the pulpit, set on fire,” a release said. A lectern and five monitors were destroyed, and food items were stolen from the kitchen. Security personnel put out the fire and called the police.

The attack came barely a month after an earlier fire on September 17, 2017, which the Observer said caused about $100,000 in damage. Police from the Matilda’s Corner station were investigating both incidents, and Scenes of Crime personnel were processing the church when the report was published. No arrests had been made in either case, and the cost of the second attack had not yet been assessed.

The second attack came before anyone had been arrested for the first. Repeated attacks raise hard questions for any congregation: how to secure a building that must remain open to the community, how to replace equipment, and whether insurance will keep covering a property that has been hit twice.

Jamaica’s churches are among the most visible buildings in their communities, and some hold equipment worth millions: sound systems, instruments, furniture and kitchen appliances. Repeated fires and burglaries are a reminder to invest in lighting, alarms, cameras and fireproof storage, and to keep an up-to-date inventory for insurers. For members overseas who fund church equipment, supporting security upgrades may protect more than it costs.

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