Vandals Flood Hall in Historic Fullerton Church

FULLERTON —  Police are investigating who flooded a historic Fullerton church, threading a hose under a metal security door, down the fire stairs and into the basement social hall before turning on the water full blast.

On Tuesday, a half dozen of the 200 members of the Church of Religious Science spent the day drying carpeting, carrying out buckets of water and clearing debris from the flooding, which left 3 inches of water in the hall, the bookstore and library of the 88-year old, Gothic-style church on Pomona Avenue.

Church members say they are bewildered by the attack, which damaged some of the renovations made to the building after it was damaged in the 1987 Whittier earthquake.

In 1996, the church, the oldest in Fullerton, was designated a city historic landmark.

Church officials did not know how much repairs will cost, but they said that insurance would cover them.

“Religious Science is a very positive, affirmative faith, so we know that God is working, even in this situation,” said church historian Phylicia Bernstein, as giant fans drying the rose-colored carpet whirred in the background.

Police said they have identified no witnesses or suspects in the flooding, which church members said took place after congregants left a service about 1 p.m. Sunday. A church member discovered the vandalism when he returned that night to gather some papers, only to find the 1,000-square-foot basement flooded and a rush of water streaming out of the hose, police said.

The church sanctuary, upstairs from the social hall, was spared after a second hose that had been dragged onto a patio and pointed at a side door apparently twisted away under the pressure of the water flowing through it, Bernstein said. The water ran harmlessly onto the street.

“The attempt to flood the sanctuary was foiled by an angel,” Bernstein said.

The congregation has worshiped in the church since 1967, when members bought the building from a Methodist congregation. Religious Science is a 70-year old faith based in Los Angeles that teaches a metaphysical philosophy and a positive outlook.

Members said the church had not been vandalized before and was never threatened. The building, closed from 1987 to 1989 after the damaging earthquake, is used as a meeting place by several Girl Scout troops and the city Historical Society. The church is also regularly rented out for weddings.

“The most important thing for us is not to ask why this happened, but how we are going to make this a blessing to the church and to the community,” church trustee Scott Rummage said.

“We have to conserve our energies to get this cleaned up and find the blessing here.”

Working Monday and Tuesday, members moved furniture and bookcases upstairs. They rented industrial vacuums to suck water out of the carpet and fans to blow it dry. The plaster wainscoting of the basement was soaked with more than an inch of water. Wrapping paper, gifts and holiday wares that had been on the floor of the bookstore were ruined.

There was the grand piano to move out of the flooded basement--it is mounted on wheels, which kept most of it out of the water. There were 1,000 books to move out of the now-humid church library and another 500 in the bookstore. Members were unable to salvage about 25 books swollen with water.

Members hope to save the carpet, which is only 3 years old, but prospects don’t look good, Rummage said. The tile flooring under the carpet may also be damaged. If that damage loosens asbestos particles that church members suspect the tile may contain, then the church has another problem.

“It’s like something that you never dream that someone would do,” Rummage said. “But we’re really trying to look on the bright side of things. . . . If we hate, that’s not going to get us anywhere.”