When the devil came to church

It was a typical Autumn Sunday morning in Williamsburg, VA. As was David’s custom he was up early and over at the church by 7a.m. to open the entry door and the door to his office and see that everything was in place for the 8:30 a.m. service. The day was just dawning and the world was enveloped in a pre-dawn light.

When David entered the Sanctuary to place his notes on the Lectern, he immediately sensed that something was wrong. Though he had not yet turned on the overhead lights an errie glow seemed to come from the altar area.

Approaching slowly David came upon a strange sight. There in a semi-circle were a dozen lit votive candles glowing in the darkness. The Cross had been taken from the altar and was turned upside down, draped in black and placed in the middle of the circle of candles. Looking back toward the balcony he noticed that the altar cloths had been removed and were hanging over the balcony rail. David switched on the lights, filling the sanctuary with brightness but the room was empty and silent.

At this point David called the Police. While waiting for their arrival he decided to check the downstairs area. At the door of each Sunday School class he noticed a strange black smudge. It looded as though it was caused by a attempt at fire or perhaps it was some Satanic symbol. When he reached the choir room he noticed that the glass on the door had been broken and this door stood open.

When the Police arrived they spread out and searched the entire building. A young man, dressed in one of our black choir robes was discovered lying down in a balcony pew. One of the policemen recognized him as a resident of a care facility in Williamsburg and a member of a local trouble-making Satanic cult. The young man went quietly with the police. By 8:30 everything was back in order for the early morning service.

The next day David called the police station and was allowed to visit the prisoner. However the young man was quiet and had nothing to say. The church decided not to press charges and the young man was returned to his care center. Soon after we moved and never heard any more from our nighttime visitor.